Modification and Validation of an mHealth App Quality Assessment Methodology for International Use: Cross-sectional...

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Informatics
• Mobile Health (mHealth)

Background:

• Over 325,000 mobile health apps exist, but quality assurance remains undefined.
• Existing frameworks like Enlight Suite need international adaptation.
• mHealth apps hold significant potential for global health promotion and disease prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To modify the Enlight Suite for international applicability.
• To assess the preliminary validity and reliability of the modified tool.

Main Methods:

• A two-round Delphi study with 7 international mHealth experts modified the Enlight Suite.
• The Modified Enlight Suite (MES) was used by 800 healthcare professionals and students in Ireland to assess a COVID-19 app.
• Reliability was assessed using Cronbach alpha; construct validity was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis.

Main Results:

• The MES has 7 sections and 32 items, including 5 novel items based on expert consensus.
• The MES demonstrated satisfactory reliability (Cronbach alpha = .925) and acceptable internal consistency.
• Confirmatory factor analysis indicated construct validity with a modestly acceptable model fit.

Conclusions:

• The modified Enlight Suite (MES) enhances international relevance by incorporating cultural appropriateness, accessibility, and readability.
• The MES is a reliable and valid tool for assessing mHealth app quality in high-income countries.
• Further studies are planned to extend findings to low- and middle-income countries.