Conference Paper2026Cited by 1

Evaluating cultural and technical barriers in gestational diabetes and gestational weight gain mhealth applications for lmic with user-centered analysis

Istiaq Ahmed, Faiza Omar Arpita, Deawan Rakin Ahamed Remal, Sinthia Chowdhury, Ashraful Islam, M Ashraful Amin

2026 7th International Conference on Mobile Computing and Sustainable Informatics (ICMCSI)

IEEE, pp. 807-814

  • Good Health and Well-being — Relevance: 96%
  • Gender Equality — Relevance: 80%
  • Reduced Inequalities — Relevance: 65%
DOI: 10.1109/icmcsi67283.2026.11412765URL

Abstract

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) and Gestational Weight Gain (GWG) present significant public health challenges globally, with particularly severe implications in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). While mobile health (mHealth) applications offer potential for self-management support, existing solutions demonstrate substantial limitations when evaluated through a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) lens. This study presents a systematic heuristic evaluation of ten leading mHealth applications across four categories: native GDM applications, clinical/research platforms, general diabetes tools, and pregnancy trackers. Our analysis identifies critical design failures, including fragmented data integration, poor usability, and the absence of trauma-informed protocols. Furthermore, we examine the specific contextual barriers that make these applications ineffective in Bangladesh, including digital infrastructure limitations, cultural dietary practices, and gendered technology access. Based on these findings, we propose a comprehensive design framework emphasizing voice-first interfaces, offline-first architecture, and culturally appropriate nutritional guidance to support effective GDM and GWG management in LMIC contexts.

Keywords

  • gestational weight gain
  • trauma-informed design
  • gestational diabetes mellitus
  • mobile health apps
  • offline-first architecture
  • low- and middle-income countries
  • Usability
  • Heuristic evaluation
  • self-management support
  • data integration

CCDS Authors

Istiaq Ahmed
Istiaq Ahmed

Istiaq Ahmed

  • Research Assistant, HCI Wing

Published at

CHI, HCII

Research Interests

mHealth, Human-Computer Interaction, Cross-Platform App/Website Development

Deawan Rakin Ahamed Remal
Deawan Rakin Ahamed Remal

Deawan Rakin Ahamed Remal

  • Research Assistant, HCI Wing

Published at

HCII

Research Interests

Natural Language Processing, Health Informatics, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Vision

Ashraful Islam, PhD
Ashraful Islam

Ashraful Islam, PhD

  • Center Director, CCDS
  • Director, HCI Wing

Assistant Professor

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB)

Published at

CHI, UIST, UbiComp, IJCNN, ICIP, HCII, ICDMW, BLP, IEEE Internet of Things Journal, JMIR, JMIR Human Factors, JMIR Formative Research, IEEE Access, Smart Agricultural Technology, Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, PLOS ONE

Research Interests

Human-Computer Interaction, AI for Social Good, AI for Public Health, AI for Impact

Prof. M Ashraful Amin, PhD
M Ashraful Amin, PhD

Prof. M Ashraful Amin, PhD

  • Founder Director, CCDS
  • Director, AI/ML, HCI & DS Wings

Professor

+1 more affiliation

Department of Information Sciences and Technology

George Mason University, USA

Published at

ACL, CHI, UbiComp, ECAI, WACV, PAKDD, IJCNN, ICPR, ICIP, HCII, CLEF, BLP, Scientific Reports, JMIR, IEEE Access, Smart Agricultural Technology, Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, PLOS ONE

Research Interests

Machine Learning, Cognitive & Vision Science, Cybernetics, Surveillance & Security, ICT in Education, Health, & Agriculture, Human-Computer Interaction, Internet of Things, Robotics

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Cited By

  1. 1.Faiza Omar Arpita, Istiaq Ahmed, Joye Banik, Ashraful Islam, M. Ashraful Amin. (2026). Co-Designing a Culturally Tailored mHealth App for Gestational Diabetes and Excessive Gestational Weight Gain Management in Bangladesh. Lecture notes in computer science, 28–48[10.1007/978-3-032-30549-7_2]
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