Mobile Apps Aimed at Preventing and Handling Unintentional Injuries in Children Aged <7 Years: Systematic Review
BackgroundDespite various global health crises, the prevention and handling of unintentional childhood injuries remains an important public health objective. Although several systematic reviews have examined the effectiveness of different child injury prevention measures, the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Interactive Journal of Medical Research |
| Online Access: | https://www.i-jmr.org/2023/1/e45258 |
| _version_ | 1827823212076990464 |
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| author | Annett Schulze Ann-Kathrin Lindemann Fabian Brand Johanna Geppert Axel Menning Paula Stehr Doreen Reifegerste Constanze Rossmann |
| author_facet | Annett Schulze Ann-Kathrin Lindemann Fabian Brand Johanna Geppert Axel Menning Paula Stehr Doreen Reifegerste Constanze Rossmann |
| author_sort | Annett Schulze |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundDespite various global health crises, the prevention and handling of unintentional childhood injuries remains an important public health objective. Although several systematic reviews have examined the effectiveness of different child injury prevention measures, these reviews did not address the evaluation of mobile communication intervention tools. Whether and how mobile apps were evaluated provides information on the extent to which communication theories, models, and evidence-based knowledge were considered. Previous studies have shown that the effectiveness of mobile apps increases when theories and evidence are considered during their development.
ObjectiveThis systematic review aimed to identify research on mobile apps dealing with the prevention and handling of unintentional injuries in children and examine the theoretical and methodological approaches thereof. In addition, this review analyzed the different needs of various target groups of the mobile apps described in the articles.
MethodsIn total, 8 electronic databases, ranging from interdisciplinary to medical and technical as well as social sciences databases, were searched for original research articles or brief reports in peer-reviewed journals or conference proceedings. Moreover, this review encompassed a systematic scan of articles published in the BMJ journal Injury Prevention. These steps were followed by a snowball search based on the literature references in the articles identified through the initial screening. The articles had to be written in English or German, published between 2008 and 2021, and evaluate mobile apps dealing with the prevention and handling of unintentional child injuries. The identified 5 studies were analyzed by 5 independent researchers using an inductive approach. Furthermore, the quality of the studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.
ResultsA total of 5 articles were included and assessed with regard to overall quality of theoretical and methodological foundations, assessed variables, the focal app’s architecture, and the needs of the study participants. The overall study quality was moderate, although part of this classification was due to a lack of details reported in the studies. Each study examined 1 mobile app aimed at parents and other caregivers. Each study assessed at least 1 usability- or user experience-related variable, whereas the needs of the included study participants were detailed in only 20% (1/5) of the cases. However, none of the studies referred to theories such as the Technology Acceptance Model during the development of the apps.
ConclusionsThe future development and evaluation of apps dealing with the prevention and handling of child injuries should combine insights into existing models on user experience and usability with established theories on mobile information behavior. This theory-based approach will increase the validity of such evaluation studies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:08:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-23f4c4204fa94eb5b8a14a11fd97f2b6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1929-073X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:08:55Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Interactive Journal of Medical Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-23f4c4204fa94eb5b8a14a11fd97f2b62023-09-06T15:30:41ZengJMIR PublicationsInteractive Journal of Medical Research1929-073X2023-09-0112e4525810.2196/45258Mobile Apps Aimed at Preventing and Handling Unintentional Injuries in Children Aged <7 Years: Systematic ReviewAnnett Schulzehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8159-9021Ann-Kathrin Lindemannhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0696-7891Fabian Brandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7316-8168Johanna Gepperthttps://orcid.org/0009-0000-6354-7706Axel Menninghttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6905-5614Paula Stehrhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0767-8335Doreen Reifegerstehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8961-7220Constanze Rossmannhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4068-4369 BackgroundDespite various global health crises, the prevention and handling of unintentional childhood injuries remains an important public health objective. Although several systematic reviews have examined the effectiveness of different child injury prevention measures, these reviews did not address the evaluation of mobile communication intervention tools. Whether and how mobile apps were evaluated provides information on the extent to which communication theories, models, and evidence-based knowledge were considered. Previous studies have shown that the effectiveness of mobile apps increases when theories and evidence are considered during their development. ObjectiveThis systematic review aimed to identify research on mobile apps dealing with the prevention and handling of unintentional injuries in children and examine the theoretical and methodological approaches thereof. In addition, this review analyzed the different needs of various target groups of the mobile apps described in the articles. MethodsIn total, 8 electronic databases, ranging from interdisciplinary to medical and technical as well as social sciences databases, were searched for original research articles or brief reports in peer-reviewed journals or conference proceedings. Moreover, this review encompassed a systematic scan of articles published in the BMJ journal Injury Prevention. These steps were followed by a snowball search based on the literature references in the articles identified through the initial screening. The articles had to be written in English or German, published between 2008 and 2021, and evaluate mobile apps dealing with the prevention and handling of unintentional child injuries. The identified 5 studies were analyzed by 5 independent researchers using an inductive approach. Furthermore, the quality of the studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. ResultsA total of 5 articles were included and assessed with regard to overall quality of theoretical and methodological foundations, assessed variables, the focal app’s architecture, and the needs of the study participants. The overall study quality was moderate, although part of this classification was due to a lack of details reported in the studies. Each study examined 1 mobile app aimed at parents and other caregivers. Each study assessed at least 1 usability- or user experience-related variable, whereas the needs of the included study participants were detailed in only 20% (1/5) of the cases. However, none of the studies referred to theories such as the Technology Acceptance Model during the development of the apps. ConclusionsThe future development and evaluation of apps dealing with the prevention and handling of child injuries should combine insights into existing models on user experience and usability with established theories on mobile information behavior. This theory-based approach will increase the validity of such evaluation studies.https://www.i-jmr.org/2023/1/e45258 |
| spellingShingle | Annett Schulze Ann-Kathrin Lindemann Fabian Brand Johanna Geppert Axel Menning Paula Stehr Doreen Reifegerste Constanze Rossmann Mobile Apps Aimed at Preventing and Handling Unintentional Injuries in Children Aged <7 Years: Systematic Review Interactive Journal of Medical Research |
| title | Mobile Apps Aimed at Preventing and Handling Unintentional Injuries in Children Aged <7 Years: Systematic Review |
| title_full | Mobile Apps Aimed at Preventing and Handling Unintentional Injuries in Children Aged <7 Years: Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | Mobile Apps Aimed at Preventing and Handling Unintentional Injuries in Children Aged <7 Years: Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mobile Apps Aimed at Preventing and Handling Unintentional Injuries in Children Aged <7 Years: Systematic Review |
| title_short | Mobile Apps Aimed at Preventing and Handling Unintentional Injuries in Children Aged <7 Years: Systematic Review |
| title_sort | mobile apps aimed at preventing and handling unintentional injuries in children aged lt 7 years systematic review |
| url | https://www.i-jmr.org/2023/1/e45258 |
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