Cited by 872Mobile Health and mHealth ApplicationsDigital Mental Health InterventionsHealth, Technology, Consumer Behavior

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Development and Validation of the User Version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS)

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Stoyanov, Stoyan R, Hides, Leanne, Kavanagh, David J, Wilson, Hollie·2016·JMIR mhealth and uhealth

DOI 10.2196/mhealth.5849PMC PMC4920963

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) provides a reliable method to assess the quality of mobile health (mHealth) apps. However, training and expertise in mHealth and the relevant health field is required to administer it. OBJECTIVE: This study describes the development and reliability testing of an end-user version of the MARS (uMARS). METHODS: The MARS was simplified and piloted with 13 young people to create the uMARS. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the uMARS was then examined in a second sample of 164 young people participating in a randomized controlled trial of a mHealth app. App ratings were collected using the uMARS at 1-, 3,- and 6-month follow up. RESULTS: The uMARS had excellent internal consistency (alpha = .90), with high individual alphas for all subscales. The total score and subscales had good test-retest reliability over both 1-2 months and 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: The uMARS is a simple tool that can be reliably used by end-users to assess the quality of mHealth apps.

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“Readability of the MARS and the draft uMARS was then determined using the Flesch Reading Ease test [12,13], which has a score range of 0-100, with higher scores indicating easier readability.”
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Mobile app rating scale: a new tool for assessing the quality of health mobile apps
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“In response to these issues, we developed the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) to provide researchers, professionals, and clinicians with a brief tool for classifying and assessing the quality of mHealth apps [11].”
Self-citation
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Research works printed but not linked: 1

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“Another limitation of the acceptability study is the assessment of tailored acceptability criteria, instead of a standard measurement instrument such as the uMARS scale 32 .”
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“Three of four sections that are part of the user version of the MARS (uMARS) [53] were presented.”
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“Quantitative outcome measures for feasibility and acceptability included the System Usability Scale [62], Mobile App Rating Scale [63,64], Modified Computer Self-Efficacy Scale [65], Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 [66], and eHealth Acceptability Scale [67].”
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“Overview Two quality appraisal tools, which are widely applied for mHealth evaluation, the MARS [26,31] and the IMS tool [32], were used to evaluate the mHealth apps.”
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Labinsky, H., Wuest, A., Possler, P., Heusinger, T., Maire, M. L., Fleischer, A., Luetkens, K. S., Gernert, M., Gadeholt, O., Leppich, R., et al. (2026) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/88949
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“The MARS [26] and uMARS [28] tools are currently the most widely used scales for evaluating content and the overall and domain-specific quality of mHealth apps.”
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“Items retrieved from the uMARS questionnaire [26] Fig.”
Additional file 3 of Utilization of patient portals: a cross-sectional study investigating associations with mobile app quality
Yaman, N. E., Zeitoun, J., Diab, R., Mdaihly, M., Diab, R., Kobeissi, L., Ljoud, S. A., Antoun, J., & Bardus, M. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24091678
Additional file 2 of Utilization of patient portals: a cross-sectional study investigating associations with mobile app quality
Yaman, N. E., Zeitoun, J., Diab, R., Mdaihly, M., Diab, R., Kobeissi, L., Ljoud, S. A., Antoun, J., & Bardus, M. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24091672
Additional file 2 of The effects of an individualized smartphone-based exercise program on self-defined motor tasks in Parkinson’s disease: a long-term feasibility study
Lützow, L., Teckenburg, I., Koch, V., Marxreiter, F., Jukic, J., Stallforth, S., Regensburger, M., Winkler, J., Klucken, J., & Gaßner, H. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24465326
Additional file 1 of Development and feasibility of a mobile phone application designed to support physically inactive employees to increase walking
Nicholas, J. C., Ntoumanis, N., Smith, B. J., Quested, E., Stamatakis, E., & Thøgersen‐Ntoumani, C. (2021) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.13627502
Additional file 1 of The most used questionnaires for evaluating satisfaction, usability, acceptance, and quality outcomes of mobile health
Hajesmaeel‐Gohari, S., Khordastan, F., Fatehi, F., Samzadeh, H. R., & Bahaadinbeigy, K. (2022) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.19075333
Additional file 6 of Promoting vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (vilpa) in middle-aged adults: an evaluation of the movsnax mobile app
Thøgersen‐Ntoumani, C., Grunseit, A. C., Holtermann, A., Steiner, S., Tudor‐Locke, C., Koster, A., Johnson, N. A., Maher, C., Ahmadi, M., Chau, J. Y., et al. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26759453
Additional file 3 of A WeChat applet-based national remote emergency system for malignant hyperthermia in China: a usability study
Yu, H., Tan, L., Zhu, T., & Deng, X. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24091790
Additional file 3 of Promoting vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (vilpa) in middle-aged adults: an evaluation of the movsnax mobile app
Thøgersen‐Ntoumani, C., Grunseit, A. C., Holtermann, A., Steiner, S., Tudor‐Locke, C., Koster, A., Johnson, N. A., Maher, C., Ahmadi, M., Chau, J. Y., et al. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26759444
Additional file 5 of Promoting vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (vilpa) in middle-aged adults: an evaluation of the movsnax mobile app
Thøgersen‐Ntoumani, C., Grunseit, A. C., Holtermann, A., Steiner, S., Tudor‐Locke, C., Koster, A., Johnson, N. A., Maher, C., Ahmadi, M., Chau, J. Y., et al. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26759450
Additional file 3 of The effects of an individualized smartphone-based exercise program on self-defined motor tasks in Parkinson’s disease: a long-term feasibility study
Lützow, L., Teckenburg, I., Koch, V., Marxreiter, F., Jukic, J., Stallforth, S., Regensburger, M., Winkler, J., Klucken, J., & Gaßner, H. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26634033
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Ulrich, S., Lienhard, N., Künzli, H., & Kowatsch, T. (2024) · Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften digital collection (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) · doi:10.21256/zhaw-30977
Additional file 2 of Development and feasibility of a mobile phone application designed to support physically inactive employees to increase walking
Nicholas, J. C., Ntoumanis, N., Smith, B. J., Quested, E., Stamatakis, E., & Thøgersen‐Ntoumani, C. (2021) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.13627505
Additional file 1 of A WeChat applet-based national remote emergency system for malignant hyperthermia in China: a usability study
Yu, H., Tan, L., Zhu, T., & Deng, X. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24091784
Additional file 1 of Promoting vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (vilpa) in middle-aged adults: an evaluation of the movsnax mobile app
Thøgersen‐Ntoumani, C., Grunseit, A. C., Holtermann, A., Steiner, S., Tudor‐Locke, C., Koster, A., Johnson, N. A., Maher, C., Ahmadi, M., Chau, J. Y., et al. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26549324
Additional file 1 of Investigating two mobile just-in-time adaptive interventions to foster psychological resilience: research protocol of the DynaM-INT study
Bögemann, S. A., Riepenhausen, A., Puhlmann, L. M. C., Bar, S., Hermsen, E. J. C., Mituniewicz, J., Reppmann, Z. C., Uściƚko, A., van Leeuwen, J. M. C., Wackerhagen, C., et al. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24037207
Additional file 1 of The effects of an individualized smartphone-based exercise program on self-defined motor tasks in Parkinson’s disease: a long-term feasibility study
Lützow, L., Teckenburg, I., Koch, V., Marxreiter, F., Jukic, J., Stallforth, S., Regensburger, M., Winkler, J., Klucken, J., & Gaßner, H. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24465090
Additional file 7 of Promoting vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (vilpa) in middle-aged adults: an evaluation of the movsnax mobile app
Thøgersen‐Ntoumani, C., Grunseit, A. C., Holtermann, A., Steiner, S., Tudor‐Locke, C., Koster, A., Johnson, N. A., Maher, C., Ahmadi, M., Chau, J. Y., et al. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26759456
Additional file 1 of Utilization of patient portals: a cross-sectional study investigating associations with mobile app quality
Yaman, N. E., Zeitoun, J., Diab, R., Mdaihly, M., Diab, R., Kobeissi, L., Ljoud, S. A., Antoun, J., & Bardus, M. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24091669
Additional file 4 of Promoting vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (vilpa) in middle-aged adults: an evaluation of the movsnax mobile app
Thøgersen‐Ntoumani, C., Grunseit, A. C., Holtermann, A., Steiner, S., Tudor‐Locke, C., Koster, A., Johnson, N. A., Maher, C., Ahmadi, M., Chau, J. Y., et al. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26759447
Additional file 2 of Promoting vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (vilpa) in middle-aged adults: an evaluation of the movsnax mobile app
Thøgersen‐Ntoumani, C., Grunseit, A. C., Holtermann, A., Steiner, S., Tudor-Locke, C., Koster, A., Johnson, N. A., Maher, C., Ahmadi, M., Chau, J. Y., et al. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26549426
Additional file 2 of A WeChat applet-based national remote emergency system for malignant hyperthermia in China: a usability study
Yu, H., Tan, L., Zhu, T., & Deng, X. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24091787
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“At follow-up, we gathered further app feedback using the user version of the Mobile Adherence Rating Scale (uMARS (Stoyanov, Hides, Kavanagh, & Wilson, 2016)), a 20-item multi-dimensional objective measure of app usability, with four sub-scales: engagement, functionality, aesthetics, information…”
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“To address such gaps, the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) and its user version (uMARS) provide validated tools for assessing app quality across engagement, functionality, aes-thetics, and information [5].”
Influential

Authors: Stoyanov, S. R., Hides, L., Kavanagh, D. J., & Wilson, H.
Affiliations: Queensland University of Technology (AU)
Corresponding author: Hides, Leanne
ORCID: Stoyanov, Stoyan R
Hides, Leanne
Kavanagh, David J
Wilson, Hollie
Venue: JMIR mhealth and uhealth
Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Published: 2016-06-10
Volume: 4
Issue: 2
Pages: e72
ISSN: 2291-5222 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.2196/mhealth.5849
PMC: PMC4920963
OpenAlex: W2415928823
Cited by: 872
References: 14
Citations by year: 2026: 95 · 2025: 135 · 2024: 138 · 2023: 108 · 2022: 107 · 2021: 89 · 2020: 103 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 28 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 3
FWCI: 59.52
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: gold
doi.org
Licence: cc-by
Locations: JMIR mhealth and uhealth (publishedVersion, cc-by)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Faculty of Health; Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation
Funders: Queensland University of Technology
Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre
Topics: Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Health, Technology, Consumer Behavior
Keywords: Mobile App Rating Scale, Umar, mobile health apps, app quality assessment, youth, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, scale development, app ratings

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Development and Validation of the User Version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS)

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