Judita Bulotaitė1,2, Justė Lukoševičiūtė1, Agnė Slapšinskaitė1,3, Tomas Vaičiūnas1,2, Kastytis Šmigelskas1,4
1 Health Research Institute, Faculty of Public Health, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
2 Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
3 Department of Sports Medicine, Faculty of Nursing, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
4 Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Public Health, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Abstract
Background. Adolescents face important emotional well-being and physical inactivity challenges. Mobile applications can be an easy and attractive tool to tackle these problems.
Aim. Assessing the peculiarities of mobile applications experience and use during one month.
Materials and methods. An exploratory study was conducted with the focus on health promotion among adolescents. Three mobile applications for emotional well-being and physical activity were tested among 11th grade students. Experience of mobile applications use at the beginning and after 30 days were analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed using non-parametric methods.
Results. Health-oriented mobile applications use starts by age 12, with the most active involvement from 14 to 16 years. Girls used mobile applications more actively. Among adolescents, the mobile health-oriented applications were more used for physical activity than other purposes. Boys rated their emotional well-being better than girls, while self-reported physical health and lifestyle did not differ by gender. The mobile applications use was not associated with adolescents overall health and lifestyle. Students were not very keen to use mobile applications to improve their emotional well-being. Consequenly, most students dropped out in the first days of the exploratory study because they felt the application as useless and unnecessary.
Conclusion. 1. Mobile applications are most actively used by schoolchildren between the ages of 14 and 16, especially among girls. 2. The mobile applications use does not relate to self-reported physical state, emotional well-being or lifestyle. 3. Students more actively use mobile applications for physical activity while the applications for emotional well-being are considered as less important.
Keywords: emotional health, physical activity, mobile application.