Cover not available
Article published In:
Information Design Journal
Vol. 24:3 (2018) ► pp.220–235

Compass

A personal organization mobile app for individuals with mental disorders

| Federal University of Paraná (UFPR)

Depression and anxiety are common mental health disorders worldwide. People with psychiatric disorders often lack the ability to deal with aspects/activities of daily life. This article describes the development of the Compass app, an app designed to help individuals suffering from mental health disorders. The app presents organizational and planning tools to improve the daily life of these individuals, and, consequently, their well-being. A user-centered design approach was employed in the development of the app, and design requirements were established based on the literature on Mental Health, Psychology, Information and Graphic Design. A functional prototype of the app was created for user testing, and a satisfaction questionnaire was conducted with potential users. The results showed that Compass was a useful and usable app, and that its interface design was easy to interact with and navigate. The results also showed that there were some problems with the design of the app. These problems were taken into consideration in the redesign stage and led to improvements.

Keywords: mental health, mobile app, m-health, user centered design
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Executive functions in mental disorder
    • 2.1Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
    • 2.2e-Health and m-Health
    • 2.3Ways to use mobile interface
  • 3.Developing the Compass app: An overview of the design process
    • 3.1The design requirements
    • 3.2The interface design
      • 3.2.1Buttons and icons
      • 3.2.2The mood scale
      • 3.2.3Prototyping
  • 4.Evaluating the Compass app with users: Interaction testing and satisfaction questionnaire
    • 4.1The interaction test
      • 4.1.1Participants and material
      • 4.1.2Procedures
    • 4.2The satisfaction questionnaire
  • 5.General results
    • 5.1Interaction testing
    • 5.2Satisfaction questionnaire
  • 6.Main conclusions and improvements
    • 6.1Improving the Compass app: Contributions from users
  • 7.Final comments
  • References
Published online: 23 September 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/idj.24.3.02vie
References
Bakker, D., Kazantzis, N., Rickwood, D., & Rickard, N.
(2016) Mental health smartphone apps: Review and evidence-based recommendations for future developments. JMIR Mental Health, 3(1). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Barrett, L. F., & Russell, J. A.
(1999) Structure of current affect. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8(1), 10–14. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cassidy, T.
(2011) The mood board process modeled and understood as a qualitative design research tool. Fashion Practice, 3(2), 225–252. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University
(2011) Executive function & self-regulation. Retrieved from [URL]
Eysenbach, G.
(2001) What is e-health? Journal of Medical Internet Research, 3(2). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hamdan, A. C., & Pereira, A. P. A.
(2009) Avaliação neuropsicológica das funções executivas: Considerações metodológicas. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 22(3), 386–393. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hilty, D. M., Chan, S., Hwang, T., Wong, A., & Bauer, A. M.
(2017) Advances in mobile mental health: opportunities and implications for the spectrum of e-mental health services. mHealth, 31. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hoober, S.
(2013) Design for fingers and thumbs instead of touch. UX Matters. Retrieved from [URL]
Material Design
n.d.). Spacing methods. Retrieved from [URL]
Padovani, S., & Napo, P. R.
(2016) Sistemas de navegação em smartphones: um guia téorico-prático de design. Universidade Federal do Paraná: Curitiba. Retrieved from [URL]
Padovani, S., Schlemmer, A., & Scariot, C. A.
(2012) Usabilidade & user experience, usabilidade versus user experience, usabilidade em user experience? Uma discussão teórico-metodológica sobre comunalidades e diferenças. In Ergodesign Usihc 12: Congresso Internacional de Ergonomia e Usabilidade de Interfaces Humano-Computador. Natal, RN. Retrieved from [URL]
Polak, M. A., Richardson, A. C., Flett, J. A. M., Brookie, K. L., & Conner, T. S.
(2015) Measuring mood: Considerations and innovations for nutrition science. In L. Dye & T. Best (Eds.). Nutrition for brain health and cognitive performance (pp. 93–119). London, UK: Taylor and Francis. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roto, V., Law, E., Vermeeren, A., & Hoonhout, J.
(Eds.) (2011) User experience white paper: Bringing clarity to the concept of user experience. Result from Dagstuhl Seminar on Demarcating User Experience, September 15–18 2010 Retrieved from [URL]
Rouse, M., & Holman, T.
(2011) Definition: mHealth (mobile health). TechTarget: SearchHealthIT. Retrieved from [URL]
World Health Organization
(2016) Depression and other common mental disorders: Global health estimates. Retrieved from [URL]
(2017) Depression and other common mental disorders: Global health estimates. Retrieved from [URL]
Wright, A.
(2008) Psychological properties of colours. Colour affects. Retrieved from [URL]
Wright, J. H., Basco, M. R., & Thase, M.
(2008) Aprendendo a terapia cognitivo-comportamental: Um guia ilustrado (M. G. Armando, Trans.). Porto Alegre: Artmed.Google Scholar
Zhao, J., Freeman, B., & Li, M.
(2016) Can mobile phone apps influence people’s health behavior change? An evidence review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 18(11). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Veldmeijer, Lars, Gijs Terlouw, Jim Van Os, Olga Van Dijk, Job Van 't Veer & Nynke Boonstra
2023. The Involvement of Service Users and People With Lived Experience in Mental Health Care Innovation Through Design: Systematic Review. JMIR Mental Health 10 ► pp. e46590 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 31 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.