Mobile health application (WeFit) among community-dwelling older adults: Development, validation, acceptance, and usability study

Background Technology advancement along with the increase in the older adults’ population leads to the creation of health applications. The combination of exercise, nutrition, and cognition should be studied carefully in improving older adults’ health. Objective The purpose of this study is to devel...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nurul Asilah Ahmad, Arimi Fitri Mat Ludin, Divya Vanoh, Noorlaili Mohd Tohit, Zahara Abdul Manaf, Shahrul Azman Mohd Noah, Suzana Shahar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2024-11-01
Series:Digital Health
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241297213
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850149126375735296
author Nurul Asilah Ahmad
Arimi Fitri Mat Ludin
Divya Vanoh
Noorlaili Mohd Tohit
Zahara Abdul Manaf
Shahrul Azman Mohd Noah
Suzana Shahar
author_facet Nurul Asilah Ahmad
Arimi Fitri Mat Ludin
Divya Vanoh
Noorlaili Mohd Tohit
Zahara Abdul Manaf
Shahrul Azman Mohd Noah
Suzana Shahar
author_sort Nurul Asilah Ahmad
collection DOAJ
description Background Technology advancement along with the increase in the older adults’ population leads to the creation of health applications. The combination of exercise, nutrition, and cognition should be studied carefully in improving older adults’ health. Objective The purpose of this study is to develop a health application, WeFit contains these three components and to determine its content validity, acceptability, and usability. Methodology This study is a design and development study involving three phases. The first phase is the need analysis involving a review on 16 mobile applications available in Google play and iTunes App store as well as a review of six articles for identifying the perception of older adults in using mobile applications. Second phase is mobile application development and content validity. The content validity was determined using the Content Validity Index for Individual Items (I-CVI). Phase 3 evaluated the acceptance of the WeFit mobile application among older adults and health practitioners. Results Phase 1 indicated that half of the applications reviewed (50.0%) had physical activity component and the other half (50.0%) had a cognitive component, and none on nutrition. No application is reported to have all three components. In Phase 2, WeFit health application containing the three components was developed where users can view exercise and food recommendations and play cognitive games. WeFit had an I-CVI value of 0.98. With respect to acceptability, majority of the study participants (93.3%) understood the WeFit's content and the graphics used were appropriate. The usability study found that the majority of the older adults were satisfied with the interface and content. All health practitioners (100%) agreed WeFit is easy to use and agreed that it can guide them in giving medical advices. Conclusion WeFit mobile app has been successfully developed, validated, and tested for acceptance among the older adults and health practitioners.
format Article
id doaj-art-69e549f7b1034adaab136f4b676d8280
institution OA Journals
issn 2055-2076
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher SAGE Publishing
record_format Article
series Digital Health
spelling doaj-art-69e549f7b1034adaab136f4b676d82802025-08-20T02:27:01ZengSAGE PublishingDigital Health2055-20762024-11-011010.1177/20552076241297213Mobile health application (WeFit) among community-dwelling older adults: Development, validation, acceptance, and usability studyNurul Asilah Ahmad0Arimi Fitri Mat Ludin1Divya Vanoh2Noorlaili Mohd Tohit3Zahara Abdul Manaf4Shahrul Azman Mohd Noah5Suzana Shahar6 Center for Healthy Aging and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Center for Healthy Aging and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Dietetics Programme, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia Faculty of Medicine, , Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Center for Healthy Aging and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Faculty of Information Science and Technology, , Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Center for Healthy Aging and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, , Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaBackground Technology advancement along with the increase in the older adults’ population leads to the creation of health applications. The combination of exercise, nutrition, and cognition should be studied carefully in improving older adults’ health. Objective The purpose of this study is to develop a health application, WeFit contains these three components and to determine its content validity, acceptability, and usability. Methodology This study is a design and development study involving three phases. The first phase is the need analysis involving a review on 16 mobile applications available in Google play and iTunes App store as well as a review of six articles for identifying the perception of older adults in using mobile applications. Second phase is mobile application development and content validity. The content validity was determined using the Content Validity Index for Individual Items (I-CVI). Phase 3 evaluated the acceptance of the WeFit mobile application among older adults and health practitioners. Results Phase 1 indicated that half of the applications reviewed (50.0%) had physical activity component and the other half (50.0%) had a cognitive component, and none on nutrition. No application is reported to have all three components. In Phase 2, WeFit health application containing the three components was developed where users can view exercise and food recommendations and play cognitive games. WeFit had an I-CVI value of 0.98. With respect to acceptability, majority of the study participants (93.3%) understood the WeFit's content and the graphics used were appropriate. The usability study found that the majority of the older adults were satisfied with the interface and content. All health practitioners (100%) agreed WeFit is easy to use and agreed that it can guide them in giving medical advices. Conclusion WeFit mobile app has been successfully developed, validated, and tested for acceptance among the older adults and health practitioners.https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241297213
spellingShingle Nurul Asilah Ahmad
Arimi Fitri Mat Ludin
Divya Vanoh
Noorlaili Mohd Tohit
Zahara Abdul Manaf
Shahrul Azman Mohd Noah
Suzana Shahar
Mobile health application (WeFit) among community-dwelling older adults: Development, validation, acceptance, and usability study
Digital Health
title Mobile health application (WeFit) among community-dwelling older adults: Development, validation, acceptance, and usability study
title_full Mobile health application (WeFit) among community-dwelling older adults: Development, validation, acceptance, and usability study
title_fullStr Mobile health application (WeFit) among community-dwelling older adults: Development, validation, acceptance, and usability study
title_full_unstemmed Mobile health application (WeFit) among community-dwelling older adults: Development, validation, acceptance, and usability study
title_short Mobile health application (WeFit) among community-dwelling older adults: Development, validation, acceptance, and usability study
title_sort mobile health application wefit among community dwelling older adults development validation acceptance and usability study
url https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241297213
work_keys_str_mv AT nurulasilahahmad mobilehealthapplicationwefitamongcommunitydwellingolderadultsdevelopmentvalidationacceptanceandusabilitystudy
AT arimifitrimatludin mobilehealthapplicationwefitamongcommunitydwellingolderadultsdevelopmentvalidationacceptanceandusabilitystudy
AT divyavanoh mobilehealthapplicationwefitamongcommunitydwellingolderadultsdevelopmentvalidationacceptanceandusabilitystudy
AT noorlailimohdtohit mobilehealthapplicationwefitamongcommunitydwellingolderadultsdevelopmentvalidationacceptanceandusabilitystudy
AT zaharaabdulmanaf mobilehealthapplicationwefitamongcommunitydwellingolderadultsdevelopmentvalidationacceptanceandusabilitystudy
AT shahrulazmanmohdnoah mobilehealthapplicationwefitamongcommunitydwellingolderadultsdevelopmentvalidationacceptanceandusabilitystudy
AT suzanashahar mobilehealthapplicationwefitamongcommunitydwellingolderadultsdevelopmentvalidationacceptanceandusabilitystudy