=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-2647/paper5
|storemode=property
|title=The Impact of mHealth Apps on Student Success in Professional Activity and Economic Effect Assessment
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2647/paper5.pdf
|volume=Vol-2647
|authors=Halyna Korzh,Solomia Fedushko,Iryna Klymchuk,Iryna Shevchuk
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/irehi/KorzhFKS19
}}
==The Impact of mHealth Apps on Student Success in Professional Activity and Economic Effect Assessment==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2647/paper5.pdf
The Impact of mHealth Apps on Student Success in
Professional Activity and Economic Effect Assessment
Halyna Korzh 1[0000-0002-0296-7069], Solomia Fedushko1*[0000-0001-7548-5856],
Iryna Klymchuk1 [0000-0002-8244-7804], Iryna Shevchuk 2 [0000-0003-4386-3730]
1
Lviv Polytechnic National University, Lviv, Ukraine
2
Ivan Franko National University of Lviv
halyna.i.korzh@lpnu.ua, solomiia.s.fedushko@lpnu.ua,
Iryna.I.Klymchuk@lpnu.ua, iryna.shevchuk@lnu.edu.ua
Abstract. This article examines the current problem of using and selecting of
mHealth apps for organizing life routines online. mHealth apps are considered
as tools for motivating sports and an alternative for training in the gym. The
main advantages and disadvantages of using mHealth apps as main tools for
tracking physical and sports motivation are considered. Regardless of the goals
that the user of mHealth apps sets in the process of using these applications, the
correct use of the functionality of mHealth apps is the key issue. The
availability of several thousand mHealth apps complicates the process of
successful choosing of personal mHealth apps that will meet all the
requirements and needs of the user. The analysis of the functionality of mHealth
apps available in Google Play and App Store, divided into categories and taking
into account the recommendations of doctors of the HealthTap network, will
help the user to choose a personal application, in particular for an active
student’s lifestyle. The important issue of forming a psychological portrait of
the user and its impact on health in achieving success in professional activities
is also explored. The economic effect assessment is evaluated.
Keywords: Mobile Apps, Fitness, Health, Sports, Mobile Applications.
1 Introduction
The appearance of smartphones has greatly expanded both the achievements and
opportunities for the development of fitness and health. In particular, it has provided a
platform for developing third-party applications that extend the functionality and
usefulness of these mobile devices. The use of mobile devices for maintaining a
healthy lifestyle is promising. In addition to enhanced user access to health
information, diet, exercises, mobile devices are becoming useful in facilitating the
ongoing collection of personal data and change habits in the shortest possible time.
Copyright © 2020 for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons
License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). IREHI-2019: International Conference on
rural and elderly health Informatics, Dakar, Sénégal, December 04-06, 2019
The clients of fitness clubs are 1.02 million Ukrainians, which is 2.4% of the
population of our country. This conclusion was reached by experts as a result of a
study of the fitness services market in Ukraine, conducted by the team of the
FitnessConnectUA project [2]. Analyzing market indicators, experts found that there
are 1,419 clubs in Ukraine today. At the same time, 75% of the area of all fitness
clubs is concentrated in large cities, where only 18% of Ukrainians live. In smaller
cities, there is a significant shortage of fitness facilities [2]. Mobile fitness
applications – mHealth apps – can solve this problem. Many of these programs are
completely free, while the average price of an annual visit to a fitness club in Ukraine
is 5 thousand 429 UAH, in Kiev - 7 thousand 580 UAH [2]. In view of this, the
problem of choosing hundreds of thousands of user-relevant applications becomes
relevant. This problem needs to be addressed through a comprehensive
interdisciplinary approach based on expert opinion, such as the recommendations of
the HealthTap network [1], which includes more than 62,000 leading physicians.
2 Analysis of popular mobile applications (mHeathth apps) for
leading a healthy lifestyle
Mobile applications are softwares designed specifically to work on mobile devices. In
the "health and fitness" category in the Apple App Store, the developers have created
thousands of downloaded applications for Apple mobile devices. Since the launch of
the Apple App Store in the United States in July 2008, more than 1.5 million
applications have become available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, with more than
100 billion downloads and user base contains 575 million people. For example, in
2016, the number of downloads of the Fitbit mobile application amounted to more
than 450 thousand during the Christmas holidays [2].
Fig. 1. Statistics of downloading the Fitbit mobile application in 2016
Clement J. [4] investigated the popularity of mHealth apps. The figure shows the
statistics of the most popular mHealth apps.
Thus, in March 2020, mobile phone users most often downloaded the mobile
application "Home Workout – No Equipment" in the Google Play Store –
approximately 2.6 million times to mobile devices worldwide.
Fig. 2. Leading mHealth apps in the Google Play Store worldwide in March 2020, by number
of downloads (in millions)
According to the authoritative service Statista [5], 41% of users consider mHealth
(Mobile Health) to be the most popular area of the digital healthcare industry.
Fig. 3. Statistics of healthcare market trends
Despite of their wild popularity, the use of public health supplements has both
advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, the mHealth apps user has the ability
to monitor his physical condition: monitor heart rate, blood pressure, caloric intake,
sleep, weight and other personal data. For example, monitoring can help a person lose
weight by calculating the number of calories that person needs during the day and
choosing a set of exercises. Also, if you exercise regularly, you can achieve the
desired heart rate and explore your changes with the help of personal statistics
available in the application.
Applications can also help people to work with health professionals, set safe and
adequate goals, which will increase people's confidence in achieving the desired
result. The user functionality also allows users to share their personal results with
family and friends within the application or through social networks, which will
promote the mHealth app among the client's immediate environment.
The big danger for the users of mHealth apps is the incorrect functionality of the
application, its erroneous activity, incorrect choice of a set of exercises and diet plans
by the users, which can seriously harm the user's health. If the application does not
measure a certain aspect of health correctly while setting for an overly ambitious goal,
it will harm the user's health, for example, losing too much weight too quickly.
It is worth noting that potential users of mHealth apps with serious health problems
should choose specialized applications or consult a specialist before using the
application.
Table 1. Functional analysis of popular mHealth apps
Category The name
HealthTapps
mHealth of the Main characteristics
Recomendation
apps application
Fitness Google Fit ─ monitors user activity during the day, 1st place
supplements ─ distinguishes between steps, running and
cycling,
─ calculates the distance covered in steps,
─ counts the number of calories burned,
─ gives recommendations depending on the
achieved results.
Runtastic ─ uses GPS to track and analyze sports 2nd place
activity,
─ tracks time, distance, height differences,
calories burned,
─ available weather information and offline
maps.
8minutes ─ contains exercises of different levels for 3rd place
ABC training the press,
─ contains pictures, videos and
recommendations for training.
Fitness ─ contains a collection of ready-made 4th place
Coach training programs,
Category The name
HealthTapps
mHealth of the Main characteristics
Recomendation
apps application
─ exercises contain animations with
descriptions,
─ contains a training log, body atlas,
─ various articles on fitness, calculator,
─ you can create your own training regime
based on ready-made plans or personal
preferences.
Supplemts Waterbalance ─ calculates the amount of water you need, 1st place
for proper ─ controls how much fluid you drink.
nutrition
Eat This Not ─ offers recipes with a good alternative to 2nd place
That junk food,
─ allows you to count the calories that were
consumed and those that the body
managed to burn.
Eat Slower ─ watch how you eat, 3rd place
─ allows you to set intervals between each
spoonful of food you eat.
Chemical ─ gives information about what a certain 4th place
Cuisine product consists of,
─ contains information on more than 130
food additives, each of which is marked
with a corresponding color.
Health My Heart ─ generates statistics: pulse pressure, MAP - 1st place
monitorig mean blood pressure, blood pressure
supplemns indicator, mean blood pressure,
─ reminds you every day at a certain time
that you need to measure your blood
pressure.
MotionX ─ facilitates the monitoring of heart rate, 2nd place
─ tracks your sleep cycle
─ monitors heart rate,
─ monitors activity to help you achieve your
fitness goals.
Instant Heart ─ Facilitates the monitoring of heart rate, 3rd place
Rate ─ measures your momentum,
─ contains export data, tags and scope
calculator.
Advantages of using mHealth apps in everyday life:
─ Allows you to monitor progress in training. Using the smartphone app, you can
easily track your personal trainings. Apps like Google Fit and Runtastic make good
use of the phone's GPS to track speed in any physical condition, while jogging or
walking. As a result of use mHealth apps users receive an automatic progress
report, which can be shared with social media users and friends. This promotes
self-motivation in using the application.
─ Helps to get free ideas for training. In case of lack of resources or time for
training with a trainer or in the gym, a smartphone is a good solution in this
situation. mHealth apps give a variety of training tips depending on the user's
physical condition and the desired training dynamics.
─ Helps to monitor the diet daily. Using mHealth apps allows you to follow your
diet.
─ Helps to set and achieve goals to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It is very
important to set reasonable and adequate goals for the beginning of physical
training and diet. Fitness programs allow you to set realistic goals that can be
achieved over a period of time.
The analyzed mHealth apps in Table 1 take first places in the ranking of mHealth
apps recommended by the HealthTap network [6], which includes more than 62,000
leading physicians. This information is useful for beginners and experienced users
who are active in sports and lead a healthy lifestyle.
3 Psychological portrait of the student and his influence on
health in achieving success in professional activities
Focusing on a healthy lifestyle is a complex and multifaceted process. This is
especially true of the most vulnerable group of students – student youth, whose health
problems are more relevant today than ever, and the way to solve them lies not only in
the medical but also in educational sphere. Undoubtedly, the formation of the
readiness of university students for health activities is one of the results of higher
education.
The analysis of scientific sources showed that scientists prefer to consider the
processes of health preservation of young people, because at a young age there is a
formation of behavior patterns, formation of a hierarchy of values and worldviews,
accumulation of relevant knowledge and skills, awareness of personal needs and
motives. Prominent philosophers, educators, psychologists, and doctors throughout
human history have focused on the health of the younger generation.
Various aspects of preserving and strengthening the health student youth are the
subject of scientific research of the following domestic and foreign scientists: G.
Apanasenko, V. Bobrytska, Y. Boychuk, L. Goryana, O. Dubogai, N. Zavydivska,
V. Zdanyuk, S. Lapaenko, L. Mikheeva, Y. Palichuk, L. Popova, E. Syvokhop and
others. The need to introduce health-preserving youth education, the formation of
values to health and health culture are highlighted in the works of modern researchers:
O. Bezpalko, T. Berezhna, O. Vakulenko, O. Voloshin, G. Vlasyuk, V. Kuzmenko,
N. Kovalchuk, O. Logvinenko, M. Lukyanchenko, L. Mokrynska, V. Orzhekhovska,
L. Sushchenko.
Many scientists consider the formed readiness for health-oriented activities as a
result of health-forming function of education: J. Herchak (readiness of students for
health preservation), V. Bobrytska (readiness for realization of healthy life activity of
their own and others), which emphasize that the value system is the basic of the
individual and forms a model of its health-preserving behavior. Some aspects of this
problem were the subject of scientific research by V. Babych, V. Horashchuk, G.
Kryvosheeva (formation of health culture), M. Hrynyova, O. Yezhova (formation of
values to health).
Issues of forming the value attitude of student youth to their health are reflected in
dissertations, in particular T. Belinska, T. Vershinina, N. Bashavets in their research
qualify the value orientations of students for their own health as an inner belief in the
importance of health associated with the emotional and volitional sphere of
personality and activity in educational and cognitive activities.
Despite of the large number of studies on healthy behavior of young people, the
issue of developing readiness for healthy activities is insufficiently studied.
The health of an individual depends on many factors, first of all on the attitude of a
person to his own health and to life in general. It has been proven that the formation
of health depends on 50% of a person's lifestyle, 20% - on hereditary information,
10% - on medical care and 20% - on the total effect of environmental factors. Thus,
the determining factor of health is a way of life, in the definition of which the term
"healthy way of life" is often used.
A healthy lifestyle is an individual system of human behavior, which is aimed at
the rational satisfaction of biological and social needs, positive emotions, and
prevention of diseases and accidents, which leads to complete physical,
psychological, spiritual and social well-being [7].
The key factor in the formation of readiness to maintain health is the motivation of
health-preserving activity.
O. Martyniv considers the criteria of formation of positive motivation for a youth
healthy lifestyle [7]:
─ at the level of physical health;
─ at the level of mental health (psychological comfort);
─ at the level of spiritual health;
─ at the level of social health (social well-being).
In order to diagnose the state of readiness to maintain own health, we conducted a
survey among student youth. 32 students of technical specialties of the Lviv
Polytechnic National University were involved in the survey. The results of the
survey show that most students prefer personal values: health, family happiness and
their own freedom. The value of "health" in the first place in 54% of students, in the
second – in 18% and in the third in 9% of students, but 3% of young people took the
values of health last place. In the last places in the hierarchy of values, student youth
placed "public recognition", "friends and acquaintances" and "entertainment".
Analyzing the answers to the question "Which of the following factors is the most
important in maintaining health?" we obtained the following data: 78% consider a
healthy lifestyle to be the most important in health, 13% - the level of medicine, 6% -
heredity and 3% of students consider the most important factor the ecological state of
the environment (Fig. 1).
Fig. 4. Distribution of answers to factors by importance in maintaining health
The vast majority of respondents have a holistic view of a healthy lifestyle - 36%
consider this concept as a set of factors (sports, proper nutrition, lack of bad habits
and a full spiritual life); 31% of students understand sports as the basis of a healthy
lifestyle, 18% - the absence of addictions and bad habits, 9% - consider sufficient and
complete nutrition, and 6% - a full spiritual life (Fig. 2).
Fig. 5. Distribution of answers on the importance of the criteria that define the concept of
"healthy lifestyle"
To find out the motivation for a healthy lifestyle, students were asked to answer the
question: Why follow a healthy lifestyle? Thus, the leading motive for students is to
succeed in many areas of life (37%), a quarter of respondents have a motive for
confidence and emotional well-being (25%), 16% of students believe that health is a
factor that will help them become strong and beautiful and the same percentage of
students (16%) - to become a spiritually rich and healthy person, and for 6% of
respondents health is important for the sake of healthy offspring (Fig. 3).
Fig. 6. Diagram of data on motivational criteria for a healthy lifestyle.
In the course of the research, the students were given the task to determine whose
opinion is authoritative regarding the value of their own health. Analysis of the data
showed that the largest percentage of young people rely on themselves, thus stating:
"I already know everything", such - 44%, consider the opinion of parents - 37%, a
significant impact on the formation of values to health have teachers - 16%, the least
students listen to peers -1% (Fig. 4).
Fig. 7. Distribution of answers regarding to the authorities on the formation of values about
health
Self-assessment of awareness of healthy living indicates that 41% of respondents
consider themselves aware, the same percentage are partially aware - 41%,
unfortunately, 18% do not have the knowledge and skills of leading healthy lifestyle.
Among the informed share of students, they are most influenced by the media in
forming an idea of health measures - 65%, parental experience and special
educational activities as a source of information are perceived by 16% of respondents,
the least influence on the formation of health worldview have friends - 3 %.
When asked about the questionnaire on the principles of a healthy lifestyle, the vast
majority of young people (74%) said that they follow from time to time, always
follow only 9% and, unfortunately, 17% of respondents do not care about health
problems (Fig. 5).
Fig. 8. Diagram of data on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
To the question "Please mark with a number from 1 to 5 (1- min, 5 - max) your
level of responsibility for the state of your health, we received the following results:
the highest score (5) marked their level of responsibility 9% of respondents students,
high (4) -55%, 28% - medium, 8% - low, no one considers himself irresponsible.
When asked about the presence of bad habits, 31% of students answered in the
affirmative, half of the respondents from time to time resort to the misuse of bad
habits - 50%, 19% of students do not have a bad addiction. According to students’
opinion, young people most often resort to bad habits under the influence of friends
and acquaintances (32%) and because of personal problems (31%). Some young
people believe that indifference to their own lives creates harmful addictions (19%),
ignorance of the harmfulness of seemingly innocent hobbies (9%), weakness of spirit
(2%) and the desire to be "cool" (3%) negative habits.
Noteworthy students position is: to overcome the negative phenomena among
student youth 38% of surveyed students believe that it is necessary to conduct
conversations, lectures, screenings of thematic films, as well as organizing socio-
pedagogical and educational trainings, conversations - 37%. Some students (18%) are
inclined to more radical measures - strict control of student behavior (especially in
student dormitories). However, 7% of respondents are of the opinion that everyone is
responsible for them and decides how to act.
The main source of knowledge about a healthy lifestyle is the media (in particular,
the Internet). Most students have bad habits as a result of the influence of friends,
personal problems. The opinion of the respondents on the ways to overcome the
negative phenomena that prevails among students deserves special attention. Young
people believe that it is necessary to form a healthy worldview through pedagogical
methods, lectures, talks, educational trainings, etc.
An effective mechanism for the successful solution of this problem is the inclusion
in the educational process of the concept of forming a healthy worldview. At the same
time, the importance of forming a healthy lifestyle in student youth as a condition for
successful self-realization in future professional activities, the development of a
physically healthy and spiritually rich personality is actualized.
Further researches are expected to be conducted in the direction of studying and
finding pedagogical conditions aimed at forming the value attitude of students to their
own health.
4 The Economic Effect Assessment
The economic effect analysis estimates the change in economic activity of market
of mobile health apps in Ukraine and abroad.
The proper analysis of the effectiveness apps, resulting in intermediate effects
should be considered a continuous chain that combines field-class applications of
mHealth apps outcomes of apps. The purely arithmetic economic effect of the use of
mHealth apps could be estimated by the formula:
Е S Rf r F – A – p L – D (1)
where E is the estimated economic effect;
S is the maintenance cost of apps;
Rf is a related funds of normalizing the user's condition of a possible negative
impact on the user's health;
F is the funds that are frozen in the balances;
r is the average rate of return of actively used working capital;
A is an additional payment to users for special conditions of use of apps;
L is the losses that will occur in case of possible malfunctions of apps;
D is discounts and promotions introduced by apps owner;
p is the probability of apps failure.
This formula expresses evaluative economic efficiency apps.
https://mmi.fem.sumdu.edu.ua/sites/default/files/mmi2012_4_143_153.pdf
Fig. 9. Scheme of using mHealth apps
According to Marketwatch [3], in the period 2016-2023, the Compound Annual
Growth Rate (CAGR) is projected to increase by 23% in the mHealth Apps market
segment.
Fig. 10. Statistics of the market segment of mHealth Apps in the period 2016-2023.
According to Grandviewresearch [3], in the United States in the period 2020-2026,
the mHealth Apps market is expected to increase tenfold.
Fig. 11. Statistics of the market segment of mHealth Apps in the United States in the period
2016-2026
5 Conclusions
Mobile applications for sports and health (mHealth apps) are becoming key tools for
people who want to monitor their own health almost every day. They are firmly
established as the main tool for tracking physical indicators and sports motivation.
mHealth apps are easy to use and most of them are completely free. Healthcare
professionals need to recognize this trend, encourage patients to monitor their health,
and provide information online to their physicians. By partnering with healthcare
professionals and smartphone users, you can optimize the use of mHealth apps, as
well as the collection of user health statistics. Regardless of the goals that the user of
mHealth apps sets in the process of using these applications (adjusting and improving
the diet, weight loss, daily routine, regular exercise), the correct use of the
functionality of mHealth apps is a key solution. The availability of several thousand
mHealth apps complicates the process of successfully choosing a personal mHealth
app that will meet your needs. The analysis of the functionality of mHealth apps
available in Google Play and App Store, divided into categories and taking into
account the recommendations of doctors of the HealthTap network, will help the user
in choosing a personal application with the requirements, in particular for an active
students’ lifestyle. It is also important to consider the psychological portrait of the
user and his impact on health to succeed in professional activities.
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