{"id":21260,"date":"2017-11-24T12:05:55","date_gmt":"2017-11-24T20:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicalfitnessnetwork.org\/public\/?p=21260"},"modified":"2020-05-18T09:45:08","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T16:45:08","slug":"mobile-health-apps-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/mobile-health-apps-fail\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Mobile Health Apps FAIL"},"content":{"rendered":"

What went wrong? Dr. Steve Feyrer-Melk reacts to a mobile health app that failed to gain adoption in\u00a0this recent trial<\/a>…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

My heart stopped.<\/p>\n

No way\u2026 Is this true? Is this even possible?<\/p>\n

Have I missed something in my work? Is mobile health off base?\"\"<\/p>\n

I read the title of the research paper again and again…<\/p>\n

\u201cLack of Adoption of a Mobile App \u2026 Analysis of Staff and Patients in a Failed Randomized Trial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh my God… If this could apply to things I have worked on all these years this could really mean trouble.<\/p>\n

I had to read on\u2026.<\/p>\n

The authors did a great job setting the stage for this paper. \u201cThousands of mobile health (mHealth) apps \u2026 effectiveness of many apps remains unclear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alright, this makes sense, but does this include the technology I am working on?<\/p>\n

As I continued to read on I started to see where this was going. The authors summarized mHealth apps as having failed \u201cto balance the system demands of the app with the needs, interests, or resources of the end users\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

…failure to balance the system demands of the app with the needs, interests, or resources of the end users can undermine consumers\u2019 adoption of these technologies<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now that was it… a failure to focus on the end users… Whew! That\u2019s the exact opposite of everything I have worked on during my 30 years in the health and prevention industry.<\/p>\n

This research didn\u2019t reject my work. It actually supports it!<\/p>\n

After further analysis of the entire article and a focus on the methodology and results, it became increasingly clear that it was not mHealth that was the \u201cfailure\u201d, but instead, this particular app and platform failed because it was a \u201cpoor fit between the app, end users, and the recruitment and treatment approaches…\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, the biggest reason for the breakdown of this particular mHealth app and platform was because it was complex, and lacked effective implementation training.<\/p>\n

As this all sunk in my heart jerked back into rhythm. My beliefs and philosophy intact, I felt vindicated.<\/p>\n

You see, if you truly want to leverage the abilities of a health professional and help patients achieve optimal health and wellbeing, technology must be designed and implemented properly.<\/p>\n

To accomplish this, you MUST find and integrate mHealth apps and platforms that are simple, efficient, impactful, and provide a truly positive experience from both the end-user and the medical professional.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the absence of these key factors will always result in failure.<\/p>\n

So as I sit here, still steadying my nerves from the shock of feeling like my life\u2019s work was being derailed, I\u2019m realizing again the absolute necessity of two of the core design principles I value most…<\/p>\n

Simplicity isn\u2019t optional.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

You must remove every unnecessary complication to keep the patient engaged. In the word\u2019s of the Nudge<\/a> Design Principles, \u201cSimplicity reduces choice while maximizing utility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simplicity reduces choice while maximizing utility.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Empathy isn\u2019t optional.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

You must understand and build a solution starting first from the patient\u2019s needs, with no ulterior motives. In the words of the Nudge Communication Principles we must always endeavor to \u201cspeak to each user where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speak to each user where they are.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you\u2019re hoping to launch an effective program that incorporates mobile health technology, an engagement strategy<\/a> isn\u2019t optional.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reprinted with permission from Dr. Steve Feyrer-Melk.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Steve Feyrer-Melk, MEd, PhD, is a powerful, passionate, and trusted authority in Lifestyle Medicine who is bringing an innovative, refreshing, and successful approach to proactive health care. Dr. Steve co-founded the Optimal Heart Attack & Stroke Prevention Center where he crafts and hones real-world programs for immediate impact. Dr. Steve also serves as the Chief Science Officer of\u00a0Nudge, LLC, a lifestyle medical technology company.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What went wrong? Dr. Steve Feyrer-Melk reacts to a mobile health app that failed to gain adoption in\u00a0this recent trial… My heart stopped. No way\u2026 Is this true? Is this even possible? Have I missed something in my work? Is mobile health off base? I read the title of the research paper again and again… \u201cLack of Adoption of a Mobile App \u2026 Analysis of Staff and Patients in a Failed Randomized Trial.\u201d Oh my God… If this could apply to things I have worked on all these years this could really mean trouble. I had to read on\u2026. The authors did a great job setting the stage for this paper. \u201cThousands of mobile health (mHealth) apps \u2026 effectiveness of many apps remains unclear.\u201d Alright, this makes sense, but does this include the technology I am working on? As I continued to read on I started to see where this was going. The authors summarized mHealth apps as having failed \u201cto balance the system demands of the app with the needs, interests, or resources of the end users\u2026\u201d …failure to balance the system demands of the app with the needs, interests, or resources of the end users can undermine consumers\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":21261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[198,272],"class_list":["post-21260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-mfn","tag-fitness-professionals","tag-technology"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}