Identifying in-app features of health and fitness apps

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Sport Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 PhD student in Sports Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Imam Reza International, Mashhad, Iran

4 M.Sc, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Department of Sports Management, Imam Reza International University, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the in-app features of health and fitness apps.

Method: The current qualitative research was conducted with thematic analysis method and the statistical population of this research is all the professors of physical education and sports sciences of the country's universities (specifically, sports management and media), professors and specialists in education and training, specialists and employees. The technology field was sports. In-depth and semi-structured interviews were used, the sampling method was purposeful, and the sampling continued until theoretical saturation was reached. During a process and interviews with 21 people, the interviews reached the point of theoretical saturation. Based on thematic analysis, the data were coded and analyzed. In the thematic analysis, the data obtained from the interviews with experts were coded according to the research topic.

Findings: 44 concepts, 6 sub-themes and 3 main themes (external indicators, internal indicators and differentiating indicators) were identified.

Conclusion: It can be said that by identifying the in-app features of health and fitness applications, it is possible to advise the designers and developers of these applications to focus more on the tastes and Pay attention to the needs of users and design programs that can be run on all types of mobile phones and each user can adjust and use it according to their situation.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Al-Abbadey, M., Fong, M. M., Wilde, L. J., Ingham, R., & Ghio, D. (2021). Mobile health apps: An exploration of user-generated reviews in Google Play Store on a physical activity application. Digital Health7, https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076211014988
Bakhshipour, M. (2017). Status of communication indicators in the country; 53 million people used mobile internet/1500 gigabit bandwidth. Mehr news agency. news code: 4306467.Retrieved from mehrnews.www 4306467/news/c   (In Persian)
Elflein, J. (2020). Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease pandemic-statistics & facts. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/topics/5994/thecoron avirus-disease-covid-19-outbreak   
Fanning, J., Mullen, S. P., & McAuley, E. (2012). Increasing physical activity with mobile devices: A meta-analysis. Journal of medical Internet research14(6), e2171. https://doi.org.10.2196/jmir.2171  
Frevel, N., Beiderbeck, D., & Schmidt, S. L. (2022). The impact of technology on sports–A prospective study. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 182, 121838. https://doi.org.10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121838      
Gonzalez-Serrano, M. H., Crespo Herv´as, J., Perez-Campos, C., & Calabuig-Moreno, F. (2017). The importance of developing the entrepreneurial capacities in sport sciences university students. International Journal of Sport Policy Politics, 9(4), 625–640. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/19406940.2017.1316762 
Ratten, V. (2019). Sports technology and innovation. Campaign: Springer.
Schmidt, S. L. (2020). 21st century sports. Campaign: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50801-2
Ratten, V. (2011). Sport-based entrepreneurship: Towards a new theory of entrepreneurship and sport management. International Entrepreneurship Management Journal, 7(1), 57–69.  https://doi.org.10.1007/s11365-010-0138-z      
Thibault, L. (2009). Globalization of sport: An inconvenient truth. Journal of Sport Management, 23(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.23.1.1
Stommel, M., & Wills, C. (2004). Clinical research: Concepts and principles for advanced practice nurses. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
West, R., & Brown, J. (2013). Addiction: Psychology and treatment. Wiley-Blackwell.
Zhu, C. (2022). Exploring the role of sports APP in (campus fitness) intelligent solutions using data fusion algorithm and internet of things. International Journal of Grid and Utility Computing13(1), 40-48. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJGUC.2022.121419