Beneficial Features of a mHealth Asthma App for Children and Caregivers: Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: mHealth and uHealth apps are available for children with asthma and their caregivers. However, previous studies on mHealth apps for children older than 7 years old with asthma are limited, and most studies on asthma apps do not consider interactions involving communication between children and caregivers. Therefore, a prototype mHealth child asthma app was developed for children and their caregivers, with features of tailored feedback messages in continuing self-management and interactions between children and caregivers. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the beneficial features of a prototype mHealth app developed for children with asthma and their caregivers. METHODS: Children diagnosed with persistent asthma by allergy specialists at the National Center for Child Health and Development were recruited. The features of a prototype mHealth app for children with asthma and their caregivers were investigated using semistructured interviews after they tried the app. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Content-characteristic words were named and grouped together as categories to explore themes. RESULTS: We recruited 27 children with asthma aged 2 to 12 years and 26 their caregivers. Findings on the good aspects of the app for children older than 7 years old and caregivers suggested 4 themes (confirmation of asthma knowledge, child-caregiver interaction, design of the app, and child’s interest), and 6 categories were identified. Findings on the good aspects of app for children 7 to 12 years old and caregivers suggested 5 themes (new knowledge, manga as a Japanese-style comic, child’s interest, trigger of self-management, and design and operability), and 11 categories were identified. Findings on the beneficial features of app suggested 6 themes (asthma knowledge, elements for continuous, universal design, notification, monitoring, and functions), and 12 categories were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Children with asthma and their caregivers perceived that the good aspects of the app were learning asthma knowledge with fun, including manga; interaction between child and caregiver; and easy-to-read design, such as colors. They wanted not only the asthma knowledge but also the universal design and enhanced elements, monitoring, and notification functions of the app.