Table 2.
Focus group participants’ identification and rankings of preferred features in a disability-specific workout app.
| Theme and identified featuresa | “Must have” | “Nice to have” | “Not needed” | Total participants rating this feature | |
| Profile | |||||
|
|
Broad profile classifications of disability (vs more traditional narrow Paralympic classifications) | 2 | — | — | 11 |
|
|
Customizable profile (avatar, location, social media handles, etc) | 1 | 1 | — | 6 |
|
|
Subcategories of disability category available for selection on profile page | — | — | — | 9 |
| Workout-specific | |||||
|
|
Detailed and strict movement standards for multiple disabilities for each posted workout | 8 | — | — | 15 |
|
|
“Additional assistance needed”/modification options for workouts | 8 | — | — | 15 |
|
|
Workout history (view by workout or calendar) | 7 | — | — | 12 |
|
|
Workout search function (by primary muscle group/body part or specific movement) | 2 | 3 | — | 8 |
|
|
Workout/training tips | 2 | — | — | 6 |
|
|
Wholistic tracking (nutrition, sleep, etc) | — | 2 | — | 13 |
|
|
Lift percentages precalculated based on 1RMb, 3RM, or 5RM in the benchmark section | — | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| User experience | |||||
|
|
Links to an in-app resources page (grants for equipment and travel, used adapted sport gear, link to Parasports club pages, etc) | 5 | — | — | 13 |
|
|
Intuitive functions and navigation | 4 | — | — | 13 |
|
|
Compatible with phone screen readers | 2 | — | — | 4 |
|
|
User control of what others can see, privacy settings | 2 | — | — | 9 |
|
|
Free | 1 | — | — | 9 |
|
|
User video upload | 1 | — | 4 | 9 |
|
|
Glossary of terms | — | 3 | — | 6 |
|
|
Explanation on landing page of who the app is for/who is allowed to join | — | — | 3 | 6 |
| Gamification features | |||||
|
|
Leaderboard sortable by location, disability, and gender | 4 | 6 | — | 15 |
|
|
Goal setting in app | — | 4 | — | 4 |
|
|
Share PRsc and workout comments in app | — | 2 | — | 5 |
|
|
In-app prompts to move up a level or try a heavier weight (based on time since last attempt, comparison with others at the same level, or progress marked in other benchmarks) | — | 2 | — | 13 |
|
|
Levels defined for each workout, with next level locked until previous one is completed | 2 | — | 2 | 15 |
|
|
Profile badge for “level” achieved in app | — | 3 | 2 | 9 |
|
|
In-app notifications (eg, PR, movement on leaderboard) | — | 2 | 4 | 9 |
|
|
Option to make scores public or private | — | — | 2 | 9 |
| Social/user interaction | |||||
|
|
Ability to network with and message other users | 2 | 2 | — | 12 |
|
|
Share in-app successes on social media | — | 3 | — | 15 |
|
|
Positive reinforcement from other users (“like” score, post emoji) | — | — | 2 | 7 |
|
|
Compete with friends in app (eg, post own challenges) | — | — | 2 | 7 |
|
|
Ability to create workout groups with other users | — | — | 1 | 4 |
|
|
Ability to look up other athletes | — | — | 1 | 10 |
|
|
Ability to comment on workout descriptions | — | — | 1 | 6 |
|
|
Sync results to fitness tracker | — | — | 1 | 6 |
aThe numbers in each column reflect aggregated votes across all focus groups. Participants were asked to place colored stickers by features to represent must have, nice to have, and not needed app features but not required to vote on each feature. Some features received no stickers but remained on the table to indicate being mentioned during the focus group session.
bRM: repetition maximum, for example, 1RM is the maximum weight lifted by an individual for 1 repetition.
cPR: personal record.