What users like and dislike about mobile apps for diabetes: a qualitative analysis of 5964 reviews on 57 Android mobile apps

Aim: Diabetes is the leading target for mobile health app developers. Despite rapid advancement in mobile technology and vast proliferation of mobile apps, the uptake of mobile health apps remains low. To identify the potential reasons for low uptake of diabetes apps, we explored user reviews of the apps to investigate end-user experiences and understand what users benefited from mobile apps and where their concerns laid. The aim of our study was to determine the strengths and weaknesses of currently available Android mobile apps for diabetes from the users’ perspective in order to produce key design and feature considerations for future diabetes apps. Method: We searched the Google Play store for diabetes-related applications and retrieved their metadata including all available reviews left by the users for each app. A total number of 5964 user reviews from 57 apps were downloaded and exported to NVivo ™ software. We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of the reviews using grounded theory methodology. Results: Six main themes emerged through qualitative analysis of the users’ feedback for the diabetes-related Android apps: 1) User self-administered care management; 2) User data storage, sharing and privacy considerations; 3) App customisation, accessibility and user interface design; 4) Associated app costs; 5) Data augmentation; 6) Technical support and user feedback. Under each theme, several key design and feature considerations emerged that are fundamental to the success of future diabetes apps.Conclusion: The results of this study revealed the most important features of diabetes-related mobile apps from the users’ perspective. While a number of these features are specific to diabetes management, several features can be equally regarded as important in other chronic diseases. This will inform app developers on how to create and improve their apps and lead to higher uptake of mobile health apps.