Japanese Version of the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS): Development and Validation

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The number of mobile health apps (mHealth apps) continues to rise each year. Widespread use of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) has allowed objective and multidimensional evaluation of the quality of these apps. However, no Japanese version of MARS has been made available to date. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is (1) to develop a Japanese version of MARS and (2) to assess the translated version's reliability and validity in evaluating mHealth apps. METHODS: To develop the Japanese version of MARS, cross-cultural adaptation was adopted using a universalist approach. A total of 50 mental health apps were evaluated by two independent raters. Internal consistency and inter-rater reliability were then calculated. Convergent and divergent validity were assessed using multi-trait scaling analysis and concurrent validity. RESULTS: After cross-cultural adaptation, all 23 items from the original MARS were included in the Japanese version. Following translation, back-translation, and review by the author of the original MARS, a Japanese version of MARS was finalized. Internal consistency was acceptable by all subscales of objective and subjective quality with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.78-0.89. Inter-rater reliability was deemed acceptable with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) ranging from 0.61-0.79 in all subscales, except for "Functionality" with an ICC of 0.40. Convergent/divergent validity and concurrent validity were also considered acceptable. The rate of missing responses was high in several items in the "Information" subscale. CONCLUSIONS: A Japanese version of MARS was developed and shown to be reliable and valid, comparable to the original MARS. This Japanese version of MARS can be used as a standard to evaluate the quality and credibility of mHealth apps.