TY  - JOUR
AU  - Bilal, Ayesha-Mae
AU  - Pagoni, Konstantina
AU  - Iliadis, Stavros I
AU  - Papadopoulos, Fotios C
AU  - Skalkidou, Alkistis
AU  - Öster, Caisa
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/8/8
TI  - Exploring User Experiences of the Mom2B mHealth Research App During the Perinatal Period: Qualitative Study
JO  - JMIR Form Res
SP  - e53508
VL  - 8
KW  - digital phenotyping
KW  - smartphone app
KW  - mHealth
KW  - mobile health
KW  - qualitative study
KW  - user experience
KW  - usability
KW  - perinatal depression
KW  - depression
KW  - app
KW  - user
KW  - users
KW  - qualitative
KW  - perinatal
KW  - mobile app
KW  - clinical research
KW  - acceptability
KW  - behavioral data
KW  - depressive symptoms
KW  - interview
KW  - pregnant
KW  - postpartum
KW  - women
KW  - thematic analysis
KW  - well-being
KW  - monitor
KW  - mobile phone
AB  - Background: Perinatal depression affects a significant number of women during pregnancy and after birth, and early identification is imperative for timely interventions and improved prognosis. Mobile apps offer the potential to overcome barriers to health care provision and facilitate clinical research. However, little is known about users’ perceptions and acceptability of these apps, particularly digital phenotyping and ecological momentary assessment apps, a relatively novel category of apps and approach to data collection. Understanding user’s concerns and the challenges they experience using the app will facilitate adoption and continued engagement. Objective: This qualitative study explores the experiences and attitudes of users of the Mom2B mobile health (mHealth) research app (Uppsala University) during the perinatal period. In particular, we aimed to determine the acceptability of the app and any concerns about providing data through a mobile app. Methods: Semistructured focus group interviews were conducted digitally in Swedish with 13 groups and a total of 41 participants. Participants had been active users of the Mom2B app for at least 6 weeks and included pregnant and postpartum women, both with and without depression symptomatology apparent in their last screening test. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated to English, and evaluated using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Four themes were elicited: acceptability of sharing data, motivators and incentives, barriers to task completion, and user experience. Participants also gave suggestions for the improvement of features and user experience. Conclusions: The study findings suggest that app-based digital phenotyping is a feasible and acceptable method of conducting research and health care delivery among perinatal women. The Mom2B app was perceived as an efficient and practical tool that facilitates engagement in research as well as allows users to monitor their well-being and receive general and personalized information related to the perinatal period. However, this study also highlights the importance of trustworthiness, accessibility, and prompt technical issue resolution in the development of future research apps in cooperation with end users. The study contributes to the growing body of literature on the usability and acceptability of mobile apps for research and ecological momentary assessment and underscores the need for continued research in this area. 
SN  - 2561-326X
UR  - https://formative.jmir.org/2024/1/e53508
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/53508
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39115893
DO  - 10.2196/53508
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/53508
ER  -