| خلاصه مقاله | Background: Expansion of road traffic apps may develop several issues about
their as a tool. Quality assessment of these apps appears inevitable since their possible low quality may cause irreversible injury or fatal consequences.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the quality of the apps in the three subcategories of road traffic safety apps (including Accident record and report (ARR),
Distraction management (DM), and Vehicle operating, fixing, and maintenance
(VOFM)) using the MARS.
Material and Methods: The researchers retrieved road traffic health and safety mobile apps from Google play. Two researchers independently reviewed the apps
and conducted the qualitative content analysis to categorize them into ARR, DM, and
VOFM classes. Finally, the quality of the apps was assessed using the MARS rating
scale (max=5). The mean scores for the subjective quality, objective quality, and the
app-specific sections were calculated separately for each mobile app. The score ≥ 3.0
was considered acceptable.
Results: A total number of 42 apps met the criteria for the assessment. The average scores of objective quality were computed 2.6, 2.2, and 3.0 for the ARR, DM,
and VOFM apps respectively. Therefore the quality of the apps in the ARR and DM
subgroup was not acceptable. Moreover, the quality of the apps in the VOFM subcategory was considered moderate. Furthermore, the subjective quality and app-specific
sections of apps in the ARR and DM categories was less than moderate.
Conclusion: Findings of this study revealed the existing gaps of three subcategories of road traffic safety apps. Considering these gaps, developers of the apps
may achieve better products in road traffic safety. However, these results need to be
examined in a real-world experience. |