The Design and Validation of an Innovative Low-Fidelity Prototype for a Psychoeducational Social Anxiety Mobile Application

Abstract

Background: Mobile applications (mApps) provide affordable access to resources for preventing, assessing, and managing social anxiety (SA). They may offer respite from the dread of visiting clinics and encourage support-seeking behaviours. However, the desires of SA mApp users have not been empirically evaluated. Although commercial SA mApps are available, those proven to mitigate SA are practically inaccessible.

Aim: To evaluate relevant digital interventions and enable feasible development of an optimal SA mApp.

Method: The Apple and Google Stores were searched using SA-related keywords. The resulting SA mApps were co-evaluated using the Mobile App Rating Scale. Psychologists, counsellors and social workers appraised images of the two highest-quality mApps. Focus group and interview themes informed the design, contents and features of a low-fidelity mApp and conceptual description (SA Information Hub). Australian consumers with moderate to very severe SA and primary carers and teachers of teenagers with social anxiety disorder evaluated the Hub by online survey.

Results: Twelve of the 1,043 (1.15%) mApps had acceptable but not optimal quality. The 19 health workers endorsed empirical mApps and advised that they contain information on aetiology, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment, and that they include toolkits, podcasts, games, videos, and discussion forums. All 100 consumers aged 22–64 years (mean=41.6) showed interest in using the Hub (93% moderate–extreme, 7% slight), and 96 found it acceptable. The most common words linked with acceptance were help, people, information, need and useful. Hub access would be equally likely via web browsers, smartphones or tablets.

Conclusion: Consumers, carers and teachers with living experience of SA deemed the Hub acceptable and interesting. Given the quality gaps and health workers’ support for mApps, the results justify the development and usability testing of a high-fidelity Hub for web browsers and iOS and Android devices.