Self-Determined Health App Evaluation Questionnaire Development: Mixed Methods Study

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Informatics
• Consumer Health Technology

Background:

• The wellness industry is experiencing rapid growth, evidenced by a surge in health applications on app stores.
• The increasing number and volatility of health apps necessitate tools for informed user decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a questionnaire for assessing health app quality.
• To aid users in making informed decisions when selecting health apps across various categories.

Main Methods:

• Developed evaluation criteria from reference documents, surveys, and focus groups.
• Weighted criteria and tested them against popular health apps in "Nutrition", "Exercise", "Mental Health", and "Symptom Checker" categories.
• Created a user-friendly questionnaire comprising 6 critical question items.

Main Results:

• The questionnaire assesses app provider quality (regulatory compliance, safety, quality assurance), content quality (functionality, evidence-based), and user-friendliness.
• Identified critical question items and incorporated user-friendly tips and advice.
• The evaluation confirmed that many popular health apps lack fundamental safety and security features.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive questionnaire is crucial for navigating the health app market.
• Most evaluated health apps demonstrated deficiencies in basic safety and security protocols.
• The developed questionnaire empowers citizens to make safer, more informed choices regarding health app usage.