Table 1.

Themes, underlying codes, and illustrative quotes comprising the theme “Impact of app-based health tracking.”

Codesa	Code definition	Illustrative quotes
Increase self-awareness; N=193; deductive	Any description of how visualizations related to or affected service users’ self-awareness, usually regarding symptoms and triggers. Subcodes describe the use of visualizations to identify patterns (eg, identify responses to a trigger, relating specific activities to symptoms) or seeing progress (eg, seeing change over time or in response to an intervention)	“Very helpful for tracking your mood and helping you feel better. It takes you into your thoughts to realize why you’re feeling how you do and to help you cope. It is very organized in a helpful way with a simple graph...” [Youper, 2021, 4 stars]
Provide structure and organization; N=188; deductive	Any description of how tracking affected (actually or hypothetically; implicit or explicit) service users’ ability to organize or structure their memories, symptom data, or approach to self-management	“I use it to track my energy and attention levels to create a more productive daily schedule.” [iMood, 2021, 5 stars]
Enable proactive self-management; N=97; deductive	Any description of how visualizations affect (actually or hypothetically; implicit or explicit) participants’ ability or motivation to self-manage their conditions	“I’m loving this app! It has so many features to explore that help me grow and learn. The training is spot on, and I love the ability to keep track of my emotions in such detail. The tracker has helped me spot areas that I can focus on to keep me in a healthy state of mind. Highly recommend!” [Lift, 2019, 5 stars]
Alter symptoms; N=68; inductive	Any discussion of how visualizing data directly or indirectly changed an individual’s symptoms or an individual’s perception of their symptoms	“This app is wonderful. The design is playful and fun with the cloud mascot and the ability to earn stickers and the other unobtrusive progress tracker. More importantly, it works. I have recently been under a lot of stress. This app has made me feel much more grounded and myself than I have felt in a long time.” [MyLife Meditation, 2018, 5 stars]
Enable engagement with apps; N=66; deductive	Any description of how tracking affected (actually or hypothetically; implicit or explicit) engagement with remote monitoring technologies, either within a single session of using the app or over time	“Incredible app for free. I used to really dislike mood trackers and always ended up removing them, but this is brilliant. Lovely to use, lots of easy settings and so many areas to track. Will be using this for a long time.” [Bearable, 2020, 5 stars]
Affect self-image; N=21; deductive	Any description of how visualizations affect (actually or hypothetically; implicit or explicit) service users’ perception of themselves, their illness, or their abilities, either positively or negatively	“I’m a sensitive person, so many things ‘set me off’ in a different mood. Aside from seeing a therapist regularly, this app has made a huge difference in how I view myself, my thoughts, and my emotions.” [Moodpath, 2020, 5 stars]
Improve recall of past experiences; N=9; deductive	Any description of how visualizations affect (actually or hypothetically; implicit or explicit) service users’ ability to remember or recount historical symptoms or experiences	“...My favorite feature is the mood tracker which lets you track your mood throughout the day and then averages it. You also can write a little explanation about your mood—which if you’re like me with not the best memory it’s so nice to be able to go back and see those entries. It also helps me realize that setbacks I face throughout my day [and would ordinarily obsess about] are just little blips. I can see that despite my panic attack the day is still good, it hasn’t been completely ruined. It’s been very helpful for me to have something visualizes that so well...” [Bearable, 2020, 5 stars]
Validate current experiences; N=7; deductive	Any description of how tracking affected services users’ perception of the validity, acceptability, normality, or realness of their own symptoms	“It is really helpful to track my mood. It helps me pause and reflect. It’s easier to challenge my thought in private and accept reality.” [Woebot, 2019, 5 stars]

^aThe number of times each code was identified (N) and whether the code was deductive or inductive.