Table 3.
Operationalized quality aspects.
| Question Number | Question | Affected quality principles |
| 1 | Has the purpose of the app been specified in the description text? | Practicality and transparency |
| 2 | Is there a description of the functions offered by the app (functionality)? | Practicality, usability, and transparency |
| 3 | Is there a description of the context and environment in which the app is to be used (application field)? | Practicality, usability, and transparency |
| 4 | Is the target group of the app (eg, doctors, students, and patients, or differently defined groups) described? | Practicality, usability, and transparency |
| 5 | Is there any indication as to whether feedback from the relevant user groups was incorporated into the design, development, or testing of the app? | Usability and transparency |
| 6 | Are there any details on where and how the app should not be used, where its limits lie (restrictions and limitations)? | Practicality, risk adequacy, and transparency |
| 7 | Are undesired effects that have already occurred been mentioned? | Risk adequacy and transparency |
| 8 | Is there a description of potential or actual risks (health, economic, and social) to which the user may be exposed when using the app? | Risk adequacy and transparency |
| 9 | Are precautions taken to avoid the above risks described? | Risk adequacy and transparency |
| 10 | Are authors or developers of the app named? | Content validity and transparency |
| 11a | Is there information about the aptitude (qualification) of the authors or developers of the app? | Content validity and transparency |
| 12 | Are sources used for the app (eg, literature) named? | Content validity and transparency |
| 13 | Is it specified whether the app has been awarded certificates, quality seals or something similar by third parties? | Technical adequacy and content validity |
| 14 | Are details given with respect to quality assurance during development? | Technical adequacy and transparency |
| 15 | Is information given on whether the app is a medical device (keyword: CE labelb)? | Legal conformity, technical adequacy, risk adequacy, and transparency |
| 16 | Is there a description of how the app is financed or who is funding it? | Content validity and transparency |
| 17 | Are conflicts of interest named (eg, involvement of an author in the app company)? | Content validity and transparency |
| 18 | Are details provided on users’ data protection rights in connection with the collection, storage, and deletion of data (eg, right to information, right of modification, right of revocation, and periods for deletion)? | Legal conformity, risk adequacy, and transparency |
| 19 | Are there any indications as to who the beneficiary(s) of the data is or are? | Legal conformity, risk adequacy, and transparency |
| 20 | Is the location where data are being stored (eg, in which country) named? | Legal conformity, risk adequacy, and transparency |
| 21 | Are there any indications of ethical innocuousness (eg, ethics vote for research apps)? | Ethical soundness, and transparency |
aUnfortunately, question 11 was not included in the Web-based survey.
bConformité Européenne. A CE labels indicates that a product sold within the European economic Area conforms to the required health, safety, and environmental protection standards.