The Function Analysis and Quality Assessment of Persian-Language Nutrition-Related Mobile Apps on Google Play and Iranian App Stores

Arezoo Dehghani Mahmoodabadi; Azadeh Nadjarzadeh; Omid Yousefianzadeh; Sara Pourrokni Salehan; Najmeh Maayeshi; Sana Sadat Sajjadi; Hossein  Khosravi-Boroujeni; Saeed Sherafatmanesh

doi:10.18502/jnfs.v10i3.19236

Arezoo Dehghani Mahmoodabadi Department of Health Information Technology and Management, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Azadeh Nadjarzadeh Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Omid Yousefianzadeh Department of Health Information Technology and Management, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Sara Pourrokni Salehan Department of Health Information Technology and Management, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Najmeh Maayeshi Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Sana Sadat Sajjadi Food Security Research Center and Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Hossein Khosravi-Boroujeni School of Medicine and Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
Saeed Sherafatmanesh Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jnfs.v10i3.19236

Keywords: Mobile applications; mHealth; Smartphone; Nutrition; Iran.

Abstract

Background: A growing variety of smartphone applications (apps) have been developed to provide nutritional information for promoting illness prevention and a healthy lifestyle. However, the effectiveness of these apps have not been extensively investigated. Thus, the current study aimed to assess the functionality and quality of Persian-language nutrition-related apps in Iran. Methods: Twenty-two eligible apps were included in the study according to the systematic search on Android Google Play and Iranian app stores. Then, each app underwent an overall quality assessment by six specialists in the fields of nutrition sciences and health information technology using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). Results: The MARS mean scores for the investigated apps was 3.04. The functional effectiveness scope obtained the highest mean score of 3.43, followed by aesthetics scope (mean score of 2.95), engagement scope (mean score of 2.83), and content quality scope (mean score of 2.36), respectively. In addition, the subjective quality outcomes revealed that just less than 5% of apps were desirable for users to use enthusiastically more than 50 times over the next 12 months or recommend them to other individuals. However, 27.3% of apps were appraised appropriate depending on the user's intention to pay for the app. Conclusion: The present study indicated an acceptable overall MARS quality score among the Persian-language nutrition-related mobile apps in android Google Play and Iranian popular app stores.