Michaela Augustin , Anne Sophie Wenzel , Maria Licata-Dandel , Linda D. Breeman , Ayten Bilgin , Dieter Wolke , Margret Ziegler , Volker Mall , Anna Friedmann
{"title":"App-based intervention for parents of children with crying, sleeping, and feeding problems: Usability, usefulness and implications for improvement","authors":"Michaela Augustin , Anne Sophie Wenzel , Maria Licata-Dandel , Linda D. Breeman , Ayten Bilgin , Dieter Wolke , Margret Ziegler , Volker Mall , Anna Friedmann","doi":"10.1016/j.invent.2023.100700","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>There is a lack of evidence-based app guidance for parents of children with crying, sleeping, and feeding problems who are often highly burdened and not likely to seek professional help. A new psychoeducational app for parents providing scientifically sound information via text and videos, a diary function, selfcare strategies, a chat forum and a regional directory of specialized counseling centers may serve as a low-threshold intervention for this target group.</p></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><p>We investigated how parents perceived the app in terms of the following: (1) overall impression and usability, (2) feedback on specific app functions regarding usefulness and (3) possible future improvements.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Our clinical sample of <em>N</em> = 137 parents of children aged from 0 to 24 months was recruited from a cry baby outpatient clinic in Southern Germany between 2019 and 2022. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to collect and analyse cross-sectional data on app evaluation. After app use within the framework of a clinical trial, parents filled in an app evaluation questionnaire.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Most participants used the app at least once a week (86, 62.8 %) over an average period of 19.06 days (<em>SD</em> = 15.00). Participants rated overall impression and usability as good, and the informational texts, expert videos and regional register of counseling centers as appealing and useful. The diary function and chat forum were found to be helpful in theory, but improvements in implementation were requested, such as a timer function for the diary entry. Regarding future functionality, parents posed several suggestions such as the option to contact counseling centers directly via app, and the inclusion of the profile of their partners.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Positive ratings of overall impression, usability, and specific app functions are important prerequisites for the app to be effective. App-based guidance for this target group should include easy-to-use information. The app is intended to serve as a secondary preventive low-threshold offer and to complement professional counseling.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48615,"journal":{"name":"Internet Interventions-The Application of Information Technology in Mental and Behavioural Health","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100700"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782923001008/pdfft?md5=485a9f1979e2bb28eee74accb168028d&pid=1-s2.0-S2214782923001008-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Internet Interventions-The Application of Information Technology in Mental and Behavioural Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782923001008","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
There is a lack of evidence-based app guidance for parents of children with crying, sleeping, and feeding problems who are often highly burdened and not likely to seek professional help. A new psychoeducational app for parents providing scientifically sound information via text and videos, a diary function, selfcare strategies, a chat forum and a regional directory of specialized counseling centers may serve as a low-threshold intervention for this target group.
Objective
We investigated how parents perceived the app in terms of the following: (1) overall impression and usability, (2) feedback on specific app functions regarding usefulness and (3) possible future improvements.
Methods
Our clinical sample of N = 137 parents of children aged from 0 to 24 months was recruited from a cry baby outpatient clinic in Southern Germany between 2019 and 2022. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to collect and analyse cross-sectional data on app evaluation. After app use within the framework of a clinical trial, parents filled in an app evaluation questionnaire.
Results
Most participants used the app at least once a week (86, 62.8 %) over an average period of 19.06 days (SD = 15.00). Participants rated overall impression and usability as good, and the informational texts, expert videos and regional register of counseling centers as appealing and useful. The diary function and chat forum were found to be helpful in theory, but improvements in implementation were requested, such as a timer function for the diary entry. Regarding future functionality, parents posed several suggestions such as the option to contact counseling centers directly via app, and the inclusion of the profile of their partners.
Conclusions
Positive ratings of overall impression, usability, and specific app functions are important prerequisites for the app to be effective. App-based guidance for this target group should include easy-to-use information. The app is intended to serve as a secondary preventive low-threshold offer and to complement professional counseling.
期刊介绍：
Official Journal of the European Society for Research on Internet Interventions (ESRII) and the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions (ISRII).
The aim of Internet Interventions is to publish scientific, peer-reviewed, high-impact research on Internet interventions and related areas.
Internet Interventions welcomes papers on the following subjects:
• Intervention studies targeting the promotion of mental health and featuring the Internet and/or technologies using the Internet as an underlying technology, e.g. computers, smartphone devices, tablets, sensors
• Implementation and dissemination of Internet interventions
• Integration of Internet interventions into existing systems of care
• Descriptions of development and deployment infrastructures
• Internet intervention methodology and theory papers
• Internet-based epidemiology
• Descriptions of new Internet-based technologies and experiments with clinical applications
• Economics of internet interventions (cost-effectiveness)
• Health care policy and Internet interventions
• The role of culture in Internet intervention
• Internet psychometrics
• Ethical issues pertaining to Internet interventions and measurements
• Human-computer interaction and usability research with clinical implications
• Systematic reviews and meta-analysis on Internet interventions
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
