Evaluation of the Early Years South Australia mobile application.

IF 3.5 2区 医学 Q1 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Ben Singh, Kate Walker, Joann Fildes, Jessica Morley, Kylie Dankiw, Ty Ferguson, Rachel Curtis, Jacinta Brinsley, Carol Maher
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Released in July 2023 by the Office for Early Child Development in South Australia (SA), the Early Years SA mobile app supports parents of children aged 0-5 years with features including health check reminders, developmental milestone information, and a broad range of parenting resources. This study evaluated user awareness, engagement, and overall experience to identify areas for improvement and enhance the app's impact on child health outcomes in SA.

Methods: The app was promoted through state-wide campaigns, including social media, parenting expos, and healthcare professional referrals, with an estimated eligible population of ~ 52,000 families with children aged 0-5 years in SA. Participants were app users and parents/caregivers of children aged 0-5 years in SA. A mixed-methods approach included four sub-studies: (1) Analysis of app usage statistics; (2) Usability evaluation via the System Usability Scale survey; (3) Assessment of app awareness and behaviour change through a population-level survey; and (4) Qualitative feedback from semi-structured interviews and an in-person focus group.

Results: In its first year, the app attracted 16,411 downloads and 12,289 users, with 4,272 active users in July 2024. The most accessed pages related to newborn sleep, immunisations, and early feeding. The System Usability Scale (n = 415) scored 82.5/100, indicating "excellent" usability. Population survey data (n = 324) showed 17% of South Australian parents of 0-5-year-olds were aware of the app, and among users, 17% reported it influenced their decision to access child health checks and immunisations. Qualitative feedback (n = 17) highlighted appreciation for the app's user-friendly layout, credible Australian-focused information, and convenient, age-based resources as a digital companion to the My Health and Development Record (Blue Book). Suggested improvements included clarifying age-specific content organisation, adding comprehensive feeding and sleep tracking, and incorporating content for diverse family structures, cultural backgrounds, and neurodivergence.

Conclusion: The Early Years SA app shows strong usability and early evidence of positively influencing health service use. Future improvements should aim to expand reach and enrich content while preserving its user-friendly design. This evaluation offers baseline data for continued monitoring of awareness, usage, and impact on child health outcomes.

早期南澳大利亚移动应用程序的评估。
背景:南澳大利亚州早期儿童发展办公室(SA)于2023年7月发布了Early Years SA移动应用程序,该应用程序为0-5岁儿童的父母提供支持,功能包括健康检查提醒、发育里程碑信息和广泛的育儿资源。本研究评估了用户意识、参与度和整体体验,以确定需要改进的领域,并增强应用程序对南南非儿童健康结果的影响。方法:该应用程序通过全州范围的活动进行推广,包括社交媒体、育儿博览会和医疗保健专业人员推荐,估计有52,000个有0-5岁儿童的家庭符合条件。参与者是南非0-5岁儿童的应用程序用户和父母/照顾者。混合方法包括四个子研究:(1)应用程序使用统计分析;(2)通过系统可用性量表进行可用性评估;(3)通过人群层面的调查评估应用的认知度和行为变化;(4)半结构化访谈和面对面焦点小组的定性反馈。结果:在第一年,该应用吸引了16411次下载和12289名用户,2024年7月有4272名活跃用户。访问最多的页面与新生儿睡眠、免疫接种和早期喂养有关。系统可用性量表(n = 415)得分为82.5/100,表示“优秀”可用性。人口调查数据(n = 324)显示,南澳大利亚州0-5岁孩子的父母中有17%知道这款应用,在用户中,17%的人表示,这款应用影响了他们接受儿童健康检查和免疫接种的决定。定性反馈(n = 17)强调了对应用程序用户友好的布局,可靠的澳大利亚信息,以及方便的,基于年龄的资源作为我的健康和发展记录(蓝皮书)的数字伴侣的赞赏。建议的改进包括明确特定年龄的内容组织,增加全面的喂养和睡眠跟踪,并纳入不同家庭结构,文化背景和神经分化的内容。结论:Early Years SA应用程序显示出较强的可用性和对卫生服务使用产生积极影响的早期证据。未来的改进应旨在扩大覆盖面和丰富内容,同时保留其用户友好的设计。该评价为持续监测意识、使用情况及其对儿童健康结果的影响提供了基线数据。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
BMC Public Health
BMC Public Health 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生
CiteScore
6.50
自引率
4.40%
发文量
2108
审稿时长
1 months
期刊介绍: BMC Public Health is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on the epidemiology of disease and the understanding of all aspects of public health. The journal has a special focus on the social determinants of health, the environmental, behavioral, and occupational correlates of health and disease, and the impact of health policies, practices and interventions on the community.
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