Department of Dermatology and Allergy, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany.
Department of Dermatology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2020 Nov 10;8(11):e16517. doi: 10.2196/16517.
In the emerging era of digitalization and electronic health, various health-related apps have been launched, including apps for sexually transmitted diseases. Until now, little has been known about how patients perceive the value of such apps.
To investigate patient's attitudes and awareness toward sexually transmitted disease-related apps in an outpatient sexually transmitted disease clinic setting.
A cross-sectional study was conducted at a dermatovenereological outpatient unit between April and July 2019. Patients completed a self-administered questionnaire on their perceptions of the popularity and usefulness of sexually transmitted disease-related apps. Descriptive analysis was performed with expression of categorical variables as frequencies and percentages. For continuous variables, the median, range, and interquartile range were indicated. Contingency tables and chi-square tests were used to investigate associations between sociodemographic data and items of the questionnaire.
A total of 226 patients were surveyed (heterosexual: 137/193, 71.0%; homosexual: 44/193, 22.8%; bisexual: 12/193, 6.2%); 11.9% (27/225) had previously used health-related apps. Nearly half of the patients (97/214, 45.3%) specifically considered sexually transmitted disease-related apps useful, 47.8% (100/209) voted that they could supplement or support the consultation of a physician. Interestingly, only 35.1% (74/211) preferred a printed patient brochure on sexually transmitted diseases over downloading and using an app, but 64.0% (134/209) would download a sexually transmitted disease-related app recommended by their physician. General information regarding sexually transmitted diseases (93/167, 55.7%), evaluation of skin diseases based on photos or videos (78/167, 53.3%), information on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (76/167, 45.5%), mediation of nearby contact points or test sites (74/167, 44.3%), anonymous medical advice (69/167, 41.3%), and calculation of the risk of having a sexually transmitted disease (63/167, 37.3%) were rated as the most important features. Men were more likely than women to find sexually transmitted disease-related apps useful in general (P=.04; χ=6.28) and to pay for such apps (P=.01; χ=9.19). Patients aged <40 years would rather download an app recommended by their physician (P=.03; χ=7.23), whereas patients aged >40 years preferred reading a patient brochure on sexually transmitted diseases (P=.02; χ=8.14).
This study demonstrated high general interest in the use of sexually transmitted disease-related apps in this sample of dermatovenereological outpatients. In particular, young age and male sex were significantly associated with a positive perception, underlining the high potential of apps in the prevention and early recognition of sexually transmitted diseases in this group. Future studies are warranted to validate these findings in other populations.
在数字化和电子健康的新兴时代，已经推出了各种与健康相关的应用程序，包括用于性传播疾病的应用程序。到目前为止，人们对患者如何看待此类应用程序的价值知之甚少。
在皮肤科门诊环境中调查患者对性传播疾病相关应用程序的态度和认知。
在 2019 年 4 月至 7 月期间，在皮肤科门诊单位进行了一项横断面研究。患者完成了一份自我管理的问卷，内容涉及他们对性传播疾病相关应用程序的普及程度和有用性的看法。使用分类变量的频率和百分比表示描述性分析。对于连续变量，给出中位数、范围和四分位距。使用列联表和卡方检验调查社会人口统计学数据和问卷项目之间的关联。
共调查了 226 名患者（异性恋：137/193，71.0%；同性恋：44/193，22.8%；双性恋：12/193，6.2%）；11.9%（27/225）之前使用过健康相关应用程序。近一半的患者（97/214，45.3%）特别认为性传播疾病相关应用程序有用，47.8%（100/209）认为它们可以补充或支持医生的咨询。有趣的是，只有 35.1%（74/211）更喜欢性病患者宣传册的印刷版本，而不是下载和使用应用程序，但 64.0%（134/209）会下载医生推荐的性传播疾病相关应用程序。有关性传播疾病的一般信息（93/167，55.7%）、基于照片或视频评估皮肤病（78/167，53.3%）、性传播疾病预防信息（76/167，45.5%）、附近联络点或检测点的调解（74/167，44.3%）、匿名医疗建议（69/167，41.3%）和计算患性传播疾病的风险（63/167，37.3%）被评为最重要的功能。男性比女性更有可能普遍认为性传播疾病相关应用程序有用（P=.04；χ=6.28），并且愿意为此类应用程序付费（P=.01；χ=9.19）。年龄<40 岁的患者更愿意下载医生推荐的应用程序（P=.03；χ=7.23），而年龄>40 岁的患者更喜欢阅读性传播疾病患者宣传册（P=.02；χ=8.14）。
本研究表明，该皮肤科门诊患者群体对使用性传播疾病相关应用程序具有很高的兴趣。特别是，年轻年龄和男性性别与积极的认知显著相关，这突出了应用程序在该人群中预防和早期识别性传播疾病方面的巨大潜力。需要进一步的研究来验证这些发现在其他人群中的适用性。
