TY  - JOUR
AU  - Buitenweg, David
AU  - van de Mheen, Dike
AU  - Grund, Jean-Paul
AU  - van Oers, Hans
AU  - van Nieuwenhuizen, Chijs
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/12/3
TI  - Visual and Personalized Quality of Life Assessment App for People With Severe Mental Health Problems: Qualitative Evaluation
JO  - JMIR Ment Health
SP  - e19593
VL  - 7
IS  - 12
KW  - quality of life
KW  - qualitative evaluation
KW  - visual assessment
KW  - e-mental health
KW  - assessment app
AB  - Background: QoL-ME is a digital visual personalized quality of life assessment app for people with severe mental health problems. Research reveals that e-mental health apps frequently suffer from low engagement and fall short of expectations regarding their impact on patients’ daily lives. Studies often indicate that e-mental health apps ought to respect the needs and preferences of end users to achieve optimal user engagement. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of users regarding the usability and functionality of QoL-ME and whether the app is actionable and beneficial for patients. Methods: End users (n=8) of QoL-ME contributed to semistructured interviews. An interview guide was used to direct the interviews. All interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcriptions were analyzed and coded thematically. Results: Analysis revealed 3 main themes: (1) benefit, (2) actionability, and (3) characteristics of the QoL-ME. The first theme reveals that the QoL-ME app was beneficial for the majority of respondents, primarily by prompting them to reflect on their quality of life. The current version is not yet actionable; the actionability of the QoL-ME app may be improved by enabling users to view their scores over time and by supplying practical advice for quality of life improvements. Overall, participants had positive experiences with the usability, design, and content of the app. Conclusions: The QoL-ME app can be beneficial to users as it provides them with insight into their quality of life and elicits reflection. Incorporating more functionalities that facilitate self-management, such as advice and strategies for improving areas that are lacking, will likely make the app actionable. Patients positively regarded the usability, design, and contents of the QoL-ME app. 
SN  - 2368-7959
UR  - https://mental.jmir.org/2020/12/e19593
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/19593
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33270036
DO  - 10.2196/19593
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/19593
ER  -