Volume 26, Issue 6 (Iranian South Medical Journal 2024)
Iran South Med J 2024, 26(6): 391-404 |
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Meraji M, Sarbaz M, Siahsar M, Mahmoodian S S, Ameri F. Evaluation of Mobile Phone Applications relat-ed to COVID-19 Using Mobile App Rating Scale. Iran South Med J 2024; 26 (6) :391-404
URL: http://ismj.bpums.ac.ir/article-1-1933-en.html
URL: http://ismj.bpums.ac.ir/article-1-1933-en.html
Marziyhe Meraji * 
1, Masoumeh Sarbaz1 , Motahareh Siahsar2 , Sanaz Sadat Mahmoodian1 , Fatemeh Ameri2
1, Masoumeh Sarbaz1 , Motahareh Siahsar2 , Sanaz Sadat Mahmoodian1 , Fatemeh Ameri2
1- Department of Health Information Technology, School of Paramedical Sciences, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
2- Department of Health Information Technology, School of Paramedical Sciences, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
2- Department of Health Information Technology, School of Paramedical Sciences, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract: (763 Views)
Background: Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) is a well-known ranking tool used to evaluate the quality of mobile health applications. In this study, we translated MARS into Persian and evaluated the quality of COVID-19-related applications in Iran.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in two stages. First, MARS tool was translated into Persian, then back-translated into English, and finally, the corrected version was developed. In the second stage, applications for COVID-19 were searched in Cafe Bazaar, Sib App, Sib Irani and Myket applica-tion stores between July 2023 and December 2023. We used the translated version of the MARS to eval-uate the quality of the identified applications and rank them accordingly.
Results: After developing the final version of the MARS, we measured its reliability using Cronbach's al-pha coefficient, which ranged from 0.79 to 0.81. Twelve applications were included in the study. Among the reviewed applications, the highest score was related to Corona Virus, with a mean of 4.20. Also, 33.8% of the applications were ranked as good, 50% as acceptable, and 66.41% as poor.
Conclusion: The present study showed that the applications designed for COVID-19 are generally not of acceptable quality. A low score in the dimension of engagement suggests that the designers have paid less attention to the quality of the information contained in and the attractiveness of the applications.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in two stages. First, MARS tool was translated into Persian, then back-translated into English, and finally, the corrected version was developed. In the second stage, applications for COVID-19 were searched in Cafe Bazaar, Sib App, Sib Irani and Myket applica-tion stores between July 2023 and December 2023. We used the translated version of the MARS to eval-uate the quality of the identified applications and rank them accordingly.
Results: After developing the final version of the MARS, we measured its reliability using Cronbach's al-pha coefficient, which ranged from 0.79 to 0.81. Twelve applications were included in the study. Among the reviewed applications, the highest score was related to Corona Virus, with a mean of 4.20. Also, 33.8% of the applications were ranked as good, 50% as acceptable, and 66.41% as poor.
Conclusion: The present study showed that the applications designed for COVID-19 are generally not of acceptable quality. A low score in the dimension of engagement suggests that the designers have paid less attention to the quality of the information contained in and the attractiveness of the applications.
Type of Study: Original |
Subject:
General
Received: 2024/02/25 | Accepted: 2024/06/16 | Published: 2024/07/10
Received: 2024/02/25 | Accepted: 2024/06/16 | Published: 2024/07/10
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