Educational Innovation in Nursing through MIT App Inventor

Experience in the Development of Prototypes of Mobile Applications in Health

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3991/ijoe.v22i05.60619

Keywords:

Nursing, educational innovation, MIT App Inventor, mHealth, mobile applications, STOP-Bang, Zarit's Scale, WHOQOL-BREF, CIFRHS

Abstract


The digital transformation of health systems and the expansion of nursing roles require the development of competencies in designing mobile tools aligned with training standards. The objective of this work is to describe the experience of educational innovation in nursing through the use of MIT App Inventor for the design and development of prototypes of mobile applications in health, aimed at the evaluation of the risk of sleep apnea, caregiver burden, and perceived quality of life. A descriptive, cross-sectional study (June–November 2025) was conducted in two phases: a 20-hour project-based learning workshop with 10 students and a pilot implementation to assess prototype functionality through direct observation. Five applications were developed based on the STOP-Bang, Zarit, and WHOQOL-BREF instruments, all of which demonstrated stable performance and results consistent with traditional analysis. The findings suggest that MIT App Inventor is a viable didactic resource for transforming validated instruments into functional applications. Further research is recommended to evaluate usability and psychometric equivalence and to formally integrate digital health and app development into nursing curricula.

Author Biographies

Nereyda Hernández-Nava, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Matehuala, SLP, Mexico

Nereyda Hernández Nava holds a PhD (2023) in Mental Health from the Instituto Superior de Estudios de Occidente, a Master's Degree (2006) in Social Gerontology from the Universidad de Guadalajara in México, and a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing (1997) from the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo. She is a Professor-Researcher at the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, México.

Rosa Eréndira Fosado-Quiroz, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Matehuala, SLP, Mexico

Rosa Eréndira Fosado Quiroz holds a PhD in Chemistry from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana – Iztapalapa (2010), and a degree in Chemistry from the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo (1996). She is a Professor–Researcher at the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, México.

Ma. del Rocío Rocha-Rodríguez, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Río Verde, SLP, Mexico

Ma. del Rocío Rocha Rodríguez holds a Doctorate in Sciences with a specialization in Fundamental Nursing from the Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil. She also holds a Master’s degree in Basic Sciences with an emphasis in Experimental Biology from the Universidad de Guanajuato, and a specialization in Human Rights from the Universidad de Matehuala. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Universidad Virtual de Guanajuato. She has represented UASLP in the Mexican Council for Nursing Accreditation since 2022 and currently serves as a Professor–Researcher at the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, México.

Alejandro Martínez-Ramírez, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Matehuala, SLP, Mexico

Alejandro Martínez Ramírez holds a Ph.D. degree (2006) and a Master degree (2000) on Science of Electronics from the Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica, México. Bachelor of Electronics (1996) from the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. He is a Professor-Researcher at the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, México.

References

[1] Inter-institutional Commission for the Training of Human Resources for Health (CIFRHS), "Essential Criteria for Evaluating Curricula and Programs in the Health Area," CIFRHS, 2025. [Online]. Available at: https://cifrhs.salud.gob.mx/site1/planes-programas/criterios_esenciales.html. [Accessed: Dec 24, 2025].

[2] X. Montero Pardo, S. Jurado Cárdenas, A. Valencia Cruz, J. Méndez Venegas, and I. Mora Magaña, "Zarit's Caregiver Burden Scale: Evidence of Validity in Mexico," Psycho-Oncology, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 71–85, 2014, doi: 10.5209/rev_PSIC.2014.v11.n1.44918.

[3] C. Cruces-Artero, C. Hervés-Beloso, V. Martín-Miguel, S. Hernáiz-Valero, F. I. Lago-Deibe, M. Montero-Gumucio, M. Orge-Amoedo, J. Roca-Pardiñas and A. Clavería, "Diagnostic utility of the STOP-Bang questionnaire in moderate sleep apnea in primary care", Gaceta Sanitaria, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 421–426, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.gaceta.2018.05.003.

[4] J. A. López Huerta, R. A. González Romo, and J. M. Tejada Tayabas, "Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the WHOQOL-BREF quality of life scale in a sample of Mexican adults," Revista Iberoamericana de Diagnóstico y Evaluación Psicológica (RIDEP), vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 105–115, 2017, doi: 10.21865/RIDEP44.2.09.

[5] Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), "MIT App Inventor," MIT App Inventor, 2025. [Online]. Available at: https://appinventor.mit.edu/. [Accessed: Dec 24, 2025].

[6] C. A. Ramírez-Perdomo, A. M. Valenzuela-Mazabel, and I. E. Torres-Flórez, "Mobile and Web Applications Oriented Toward Caregiver Support," Index de Enfermería, vol. 33, no. 3, e14819, 2024, doi: 10.58807/indexenferm20246912.

[7] M. Simón Miguélez and T. Sufrate Sorzano, "Mobile applications in nursing: A bibliographic review", Final Degree Project, University of La Rioja, Spain, 2024. [Online]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14797/677ce82d6640ab1223711dda. [Accesed: Nov 22, 2025].

[8] K. L. Challinor, G. Wright y A. Burston, “Piloting a communication app for nurses and family/friends in residential aged care”, Collegian, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 341–348, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.colegn.2025.08.003.

[9] F. Ehrler, C. Lovis y K. Blondon, “A Mobile Phone App for Bedside Nursing Care: Design and Development Using an Adapted Software Development Life Cycle Model”, JMIR mHealth and uHealth, vol. 7, no. 4, e12551, 2019, doi: 10.2196/12551.

[10] C. E. González Acevedo, A. Díaz Oviedo, M. L. Venegas Cepeda, L. Villarruel Hernández, E. García Rosas, and N. Somlander, "Digital Tools in Nursing Education: A Systematic Review," Lux Médica, vol. 18, no. 55, 2023, doi: 10.33064/55lm20234356.

[11] T. Armour, E. Coffey, E. Manias, B. Redley y P. Nicholson, “Development of mobile educational applications designed for nurses: A narrative review”, Nurse Education Today, vol. 147, p. 106576, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106576.

[12] G. J. Nowicki, W. Mazurek, A. Waśkowicz, E. Kowalczyk, J. Kozioł, M. Miłosz, M. Dzieńkowski y B. Ślusarska, “Development and pre-evaluation of a ‘DiagNurse’ mobile app to support nurses in clinical diagnosis using the ADDIE model”, Scientific Reports, vol. 14, Art. no. 29765, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-81813-0.

[13] A. K.-M. Lu, Y.-L. Chung, Y.-H. Wang, S.-K. Lin y J.-L. Hsieh, “Developing and evaluating a campus-based health management app for nursing students: A pilot study on usability and user experience”, DIGITAL HEALTH, vol. 11, pp. 1–12, 2025, doi: 10.1177/20552076251330577.

[14] C. J. Bakker, T. H. Wyatt, M. C. S. Breth, G. Gao, L. M. Janeway, M. A. Lee, C. L. Martin y V. L. Tiase, “Nurses’ roles in mHealth app development: Scoping review”, JMIR Nursing, vol. 6, e46058, 2023, doi: 10.2196/46058.

[15] W. Niemiec y É. Cota, “Towards a component-based framework for mHealth apps: Bridging the gap between the nursing domain language and the computation domain”, Journal of Systems and Software, vol. 230, p. 112497, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2025.112497.

[16] M. A. Lafraxo, M. Ouadoud, Y. El Madhi, M. Rehali y A. Soulaymani, “Burnout syndrome prevention measures among nursing staff: Implementing a mobile application based on MIT’s App Inventor tool using the Scratch programming”, International Journal of Online Engineering (iJOE), vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 81–95, 2021, doi: 10.3991/ijoe.v17i04.20393.

[17] T. Barbosa de Lira, F. C. Viana Rocha, C. A. Pinheiro Landim Almeida, F. C. Miranda Amorim, and L. Pazolinni Viana Rocha, "Development and Evaluation of an Application Prototype for Caregivers of the Elderly," Global Nursing, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 389–421, 2020, doi: 10.6018/eglobal.396671.

[18] J. Gómez-Álvarez, "Communicator for patients: an example of gerontological intervention," International Journal of Research and Technological Innovation, vol. 6, no. 34, 2018. [Online]. Available at: https://riiit.com.mx/apps/site/files/comunicador-pacientes._jos_g._immx_2017_2_v1.pdf. [Accessed: Dec 24, 2025].

[19] Ministry of Health, "Official Mexican Standard NOM-012-SSA3-2012, Which Establishes the Criteria for the Execution of Research Projects for Health in Human Beings," Official Gazette of the Federation, Jan 4, 2013. [Online]. Available at: https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5284148&fecha=04/01/2013. [Accessed: Dec 10, 2025].

[20] M. Weber, E. Ziefle, “Exploring acceptance of Wearable health devices and fitness apps: A health belief model perspective”, Journal of Biomedical Informatics, vol. 90, p. 103099, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.jbi.2019.103099.

[21] T. Y. Phan, V. Dang and V. T. Dang, "An Android-Based mHealth App for Color Vision Screening and Career Guidance: Design and Validation", Int. J. Onl. Eng., vol. 21, no. 14, pp. 138–155, 2025.

[22] R. Leon-Ayala and L. Andrade-Arenas, “Mobile Application Design: Caries Health Care for Children”, Int. J. Interact. Mob. Technol., vol. 16, no. 21, pp. pp. 183–200, Nov. 2022.

[23] A. Wali, H. Almagrabi, S. El-Feky, and M. Jokhdar, “Dawwen: An Arabic Mental Health Mobile App Based on Natural Language Processing”, Int. J. Interact. Mob. Technol., vol. 19, no. 04, pp. pp. 108–131, Feb. 2025.

[24] D. M. Gwaltney, N. A. Shields, M. W. Shiffman, “Equivalence of electronic and paper-and-pencil patient-reported outcome measures: A meta-analytic review”, Quality of Life Research, vol. 23, pp. 667–679, 2014, doi: 10.1007/s11136-014-0637-7.

[25] R. M. Santana, M. L. Feeny, D. J. Brazier, “Measurement equivalence of paper and electronic versions of patient-reported outcome measures: A systematic review and meta-analysis”, Value in Health, vol. 24, no. 9, pp. 1381–1391, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.jval.2021.05.005.

[26] M. L. Wildenbos, J. Peute, M. Jaspers, “A Framework for evaluating mHealth usability”, International Journal of Medical Informatics, vol. 114, pp. 66–74, 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2018.03.001.

[27] C. O’Connor, J. Hanlon, M. O’Donnell, et al., “Understanding factors affecting patient and public engagement and recruitment to digital health interventions: A systematic review of qualitative studies”, BMJ Open, vol. 9, no. 3, e030895, 2019, doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030895.

[28] A. M. Reiners, F. Sturm, V. Bouwmans, et al., “Factors influencing the implementation success of mHealth interventions in low-resource settings: A systematic review”, BMC Health Services Research, vol. 21, Article no. 82, 2021, doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-06195-5.

[29] D. Cedeno-Moreno and M. Vargas-Lombardo, "Mobile Applications for Diabetes Self-Care and Approach to Machine Learning", Int. J. Onl. Eng., vol. 16, no. 08, pp. 25–38, 2020.

[30] J. E. Lewis, K. A. Wyatt, “Designing and evaluating digital health interventions: Recommendations from the mHealth evidence workshop”, Journal of Medical Internet Research, vol. 20, no. 12, e234, 2018, doi: 10.2196/jmir.9292.

[31] A. Albrecht, B. Erhart, S. Reiter, et al., “User-centered design and evaluation of mobile health apps: Lessons from a longitudinal mHealth project”, BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, vol. 20, Article no. 96, 2020, doi: 10.1186/s12911-020-1105-3.

[32] N. Khan, M. I. Qureshi, I. Mustapha, S. Irum and R. N. Arshad, "A Systematic Literature Review Paper on Online Medical Mobile Applications in Malaysia", Int. J. Onl. Eng., vol. 16, no. 01, pp. 63–82, 2020.

Cover iJOE – Vol 22, No 05 (2026)

Downloads

Published

2026-05-11

How to Cite

Hernández-Nava, N., Fosado-Quiroz, R. E., Rocha-Rodríguez, M. del R., & Martínez-Ramírez, A. (2026). Educational Innovation in Nursing through MIT App Inventor: Experience in the Development of Prototypes of Mobile Applications in Health. International Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering (iJOE), 22(05), pp. 22–39. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijoe.v22i05.60619

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 05 (2026)

Section

Papers

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Nereyda Hernández-Nava, Rosa Eréndira Fosado-Quiroz, Ma. del Rocío Rocha-Rodríguez, Alejandro Martínez-Ramírez

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.