Designing mHealth Apps for Substance Use Recovery Through Real-World Co-Design and Deployment: Mixed Methods Study

Area of Science:

• Digital health interventions
• Substance use disorder recovery
• Human-computer interaction

Background:

• Mobile health (mHealth) apps show potential for supporting substance use disorder (SUD) recovery.
• However, conclusive evidence on engagement and efficacy remains limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify design considerations for optimizing engagement in mHealth apps for individuals in recovery from problematic substance use.
• To analyze real-world experiences with co-designed app features.

Main Methods:

• Co-design, deployment, and evaluation of an mHealth app.
• Initial interviews with 14 individuals in recovery informed 3 new features.
• A 6-week trial with 53 participants, followed by interviews with 12 users.

Main Results:

• Three features were developed: goal-setting, craving tracker, and meetings log.
• 45.3% of users actively engaged, with a 30-day retention rate of 45.8% for active users, exceeding benchmarks.
• Users desired broader functionality beyond SUD, including journaling and community features, and preferred customizable autonomy levels.

Conclusions:

• Iterative co-design is valuable for optimizing engagement in digital health and recovery apps.
• Flexible app designs with customizable user autonomy benefit recovery.
• Personalized mHealth designs balancing system and user control enhance digital recovery pathways.