Co-designing an e-resource to support’ search for mobile apps

Background: Contemporary parents use mobile applications or “apps” to resolve their day-to-day parenting concerns. However, research suggests an abundance of low-quality apps makes the app searching process arduous for parents, therefore, there is a need to develop a resource that supports parents’ search for apps. Methods: The study aimed at engaging parents in co-developing a parenting app directory and co-designing Webpages to feature the directory. Four focus group discussions were conducted with 18 first-time Canadian parents to develop the parenting app directory. Participatory design was used to co-create Webpage prototypes (landing or main Webpage and the app description page) with 3 first-time Canadian parents. Results: Twelve apps that met the eligibility criteria were included in the parenting app directory. Parents supported the idea of creating an app directory and recommended sharing the link in perinatal classes. During design sessions, parents stressed the importance of an organized user interface, providing less but the best choices to ease the search process for apps, reducing the number of clicks to save time, and mobile optimization of the Website to accommodate different screen sizes. Conclusions: Contemporary parents’ use of apps is growing significantly; therefore, clinicians should support parents’ search for quality apps and guide them accordingly. Parents can provide insight into design principles that can be used in developing appealing parenting app resources. Parents should be involved in designing future resources as they can significantly contribute to ensuring a resource is useful.