User Experience in mHealth Research: Bibliometric Analysis of Trends and Developments (2007-2023)

The significance of mobile health (mHealth) apps transforms traditional health care delivery and enables individuals to actively manage their health. The success and effectiveness of mHealth apps heavily depend on the user experience and satisfaction. Previous studies have examined mHealth adoption through systematic literature reviews, focusing on mental health, chronic disease management, fitness, and public health responses to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the state of research, the key trends, themes, and gaps in the user experience and satisfaction with mHealth apps remain unexplored.

This study aimed to investigate the state of research on user experience in mHealth apps through a bibliometric analysis. Furthermore, the study aims to systematically identify research trends and themes by extending the analysis of the science mapping technique, co-word analysis, and bibliographic coupling.

The bibliographic data corpus was collected from Scopus and Web of Science and systematically analyzed using bibliometric performance analysis and science mapping techniques. The methodology incorporates various data processing and visualization tools, including VOS Viewer, OriginLab, and SiteSpace. Then, a comprehensive review metric, combining the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) framework and a 4-step approach from data collection to interpretation is used.

The bibliographic analysis spans 16 years and includes 814 unique publications authored by 4870 researchers from 81 countries and 1948 organizations, published across 351 high-impact journals and prominent conferences. The analysis of research trends identifies 2 key trends: the differentiation in keyword usage for user experience and user satisfaction, and the research methodologies used within the domain. Furthermore, 5 research themes were identified exploring critical aspects of technology use, user engagement, and clinical integration. Although all 5 themes overlap, each theme focuses on distinct elements that help delineate their contributions to the overall understanding of mHealth apps: technological evaluation (Theme 1), design features for engagement (Theme 2), patient usability (Theme 3), long-term engagement factors (Theme 4), and clinical integration (Theme 5).

This study offers a fundamental understanding of the bibliographic landscape of research on user experience and satisfaction with mHealth apps. By identifying major research clusters, influential works, and emerging topics, this analysis provides evidence-based guidance for researchers, developers, and health informatics practitioners. Furthermore, based on the research trends findings, future research should prioritize expanding the scope of user experience (UX) evaluation by incorporating diverse user populations, longitudinal studies, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and personalized interventions. Integrating insights from interdisciplinary perspectives such as human-computer interaction, behavioral sciences, and health care informatics, the understanding of user needs and app effectiveness can be enhanced. A more standardized framework for assessing UX in mHealth apps is also recommended to facilitate comparability across studies and improve app design to maximize user engagement and health outcomes.