Beyond Pretty Screens: How We Assessed Pediatric mHealth Apps

The rapid rise of mobile health (mHealth) apps offers enormous potential to support child growth monitoring and health education — especially in countries like Indonesia, where smartphone use is widespread. But with hundreds of apps available, how do we know which ones truly deliver quality, usability, and value to parents and caregivers?

In our study, we systematically evaluated nine pediatric-focused health apps available in Indonesian app stores using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) — an industry-standard tool that assesses engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information quality.

📊 Key insights from the study:

• Most apps performed well in functionality and visual design, but showed wide variation in engagement and information quality.

• Only a minority included interactive features like feedback and community support — elements crucial for sustained user involvement.

• Commercial developers dominated the space, highlighting the need for more evidence-based and user-centered solutions in pediatric digital health.

Figure 1. Correlation matrix MARS categories. Original figure by Irawan et al., Frontiers in Digital health (2025). Source: DOI 10.3389/fdgth.2025.1621293

Figure 2. Average MARS behavioral outcomes by category.. Original figure by Irawan et al., Frontiers in Digital health (2025). Source: DOI 10.3389/fdgth.2025.1621293

👩‍⚕️👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For caregivers and health practitioners, our findings offer a clearer picture of which apps are most likely to support meaningful health engagement — beyond just a pretty interface.

📢 Takeaway: While mHealth apps hold great promise for improving child health monitoring and stunting prevention, developers and health stakeholders must prioritize engagement and evidence-driven content to truly support families in their care journey.

Full text: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/digital-health/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1621293/full