Considerations for mHealth development: lessons learned from two diabetes education apps

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Behavior Change Technology
• Chronic Disease Management Tools

Background:

• Mobile health (mHealth) technologies show potential for behavior change and chronic disease management.
• Existing frameworks for mHealth development often lack practical detail, especially concerning external vendor collaboration.
• This study addresses the gap by detailing lessons learned from a multidisciplinary team's mHealth app development process.

Purpose of the Study:

• To share practical insights from the iterative design, development, and evaluation of two health education apps.
• To provide guidance on app feature design, regulatory navigation, and developer synchronization in mHealth projects.

Main Methods:

• Employed a hybrid framework combining Design Thinking and Rapid Application Development.
• Iteratively re-designed, re-developed, and re-evaluated two apps: Glow (type 2 diabetes) and WellFeet (foot ulcer risk).
• Utilized autoethnographic methods for data collection and analysis, alongside co-design, randomized controlled trials, and feasibility studies for app evaluation.

Main Results:

• Identified key insights in refining app features (tracking, gamification, notifications, tailored education).
• Detailed the process of adapting to regulatory requirements at institutional, platform, and national levels.
• Highlighted the importance of effective developer synchronization through workflow understanding, improved testing, and strong rapport.

Conclusions:

• Iterative clarification of project vision and adaptability are crucial for multidisciplinary mHealth teams.
• Resilience, humility, and curiosity are essential approaches, alongside flexibility to manage evolving requirements and regulations.
• Adaptability is imperative for successful mHealth app development and project planning in dynamic environments.