Balaskas, A;
Schueller, SM;
Cox, AL;
Doherty, G;
(2022)
Understanding users’ perspectives on mobile apps for anxiety management.
Frontiers in Digital Health
, 4
, Article 854263. 10.3389/fdgth.2022.854263.
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Abstract
Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental health problem. The potential of apps to improve mental health has led to an increase in the number of anxiety apps available. Even though anxiety apps hold the potential to enhance mental health care for individuals, there is relatively little knowledge concerning users’ perspectives. This mixed-methods study aims to understand the nature of user burden and engagement with mental health apps (MHapps) targeting anxiety management, in order to identify ways to improve the design of these apps. Users’ perspectives on these apps were gathered by analyzing 600 reviews from 5 apps on the app stores (Study 1), and conducting 15 interviews with app users (Study 2). The results shed light on several barriers to adoption and sustained use. Users appreciate apps that offer content variation, customizability, and good interface design, and often requested an enhanced, personalized experience to improve engagement. We propose addressing the specific app quality issues identified through human-centered design, more personalized content delivery, and by improving features for social and therapeutic support.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Understanding users’ perspectives on mobile apps for anxiety management |
| Location: | Switzerland |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fdgth.2022.854263 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2022.854263 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2022 Balaskas, Schueller, Cox and Doherty. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | anxiety, mental health, mobile apps, mobile interventions, stress |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > UCL Interaction Centre UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10156688 |
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