Translation and Validation of the User Version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale Into the Polish Language: Cross-Sectional Methodological Study

BACKGROUND: Mobile health (mHealth) apps can innovatively diagnose, prevent, and treat many diseases. The increasing use of mHealth apps necessitates an appropriate assessment standard. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to translate the User Version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS) into Polish, followed by validation, cultural adaptation, and examination of its reliability and validity. METHODS: The Polish version of uMARS was adapted, translated, and validated based on the free STOP COVID ProteGO Safe app available for Android and iOS platforms. A total of 117 participants rated the app using the translated scale and rerated it 1 week later. RESULTS: The conceptual equivalence of all items and subscales of the original uMARS and its Polish version was confirmed. The translated uMARS scale exhibited high reliability (Cronbach α=0.95). The perceived test-retest reliability and total influence score were acceptable, with intraclass correlation coefficient values of 0.59 and 0.65, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The translated scale matched the reliability of the original scale. It can help users choose the best mHealth apps available in Poland and report their quality. The Polish version of uMARS was cross-culturally validated and was found to be as reliable as the original uMARS. The translated and validated uMARS tool can be used to evaluate mHealth apps in various aspects. App developers can reliably assess app components and determine areas that require further improvement and development to deliver higher-quality apps. The Polish version of the uMARS can become a standard tool for evaluating the quality of mHealth apps in Poland.