Mobile Apps Aimed at Preventing and Handling Unintentional Injuries in Children Aged <7 Years: Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Digital Health
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Childhood injury prevention is a critical public health objective, yet mobile app interventions remain under-evaluated.
• Existing systematic reviews have not focused on the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of mobile apps for injury prevention.
• Evidence suggests that incorporating communication theories and evidence enhances mobile app effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review research on mobile apps for preventing and managing unintentional childhood injuries.
• To examine the theoretical and methodological approaches used in evaluating these mobile apps.
• To analyze the diverse needs of different target user groups for these mobile applications.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a systematic search across 8 electronic databases and the journal Injury Prevention.
• Included original research articles and brief reports published in English or German between 2008 and 2021.
• Analyzed 5 identified studies using an inductive approach and assessed study quality with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

Main Results:

• Five articles were included, evaluating one mobile app each, primarily targeting parents and caregivers.
• Overall study quality was moderate, with a lack of detailed reporting in several areas.
• While usability and user experience were assessed, only 20% of studies detailed participant needs, and none referenced established theories like the Technology Acceptance Model in app development.

Conclusions:

• Future development and evaluation of child injury prevention apps should integrate user experience/usability models with established mobile information behavior theories.
• A theory-based approach is crucial for increasing the validity and effectiveness of evaluation studies for these digital health interventions.