Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Division of Informatics, Imaging and Data Sciences, Centre for Health Informatics, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2021 Aug 13;28(9):2027-2038. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocab094.
The study sought to identify smartphone apps that support hand hygiene practice and to assess their content, technical and functional features, and quality. A secondary objective was to make design and research recommendations for future apps.
We searched the UK Google Play and Apple App stores for hand hygiene smartphone apps aimed at adults. Information regarding content, technical and functional features was extracted and summarized. Two raters evaluated each app, using the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics functionality score and the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS).
A total of 668 apps were identified, with 90 meeting the inclusion criteria. Most (96%) were free to download. The majority (78%) intended to educate or inform or remind users to hand wash (69%), using behavior change techniques such as personalization and prompting practice. Only 20% and 4% named a best practice guideline or had expert involvement in development, respectively. Innovative means of engagement were used in 42% (eg, virtual or augmented reality or geolocation-based reminders). Apps included an average of 2.4 out of 10 of the IMS functionality criteria (range, 0-8). The mean MARS score was 3.2 ± 0.5 out of 5, and 68% had a minimum acceptability score of 3. Two had been tested or trialed.
Although many hand hygiene apps exist, few provide content on best practice. Many did not meet the minimum acceptability criterion for quality or were formally trialed or tested. Research should assess the feasibility and effectiveness of hand hygiene apps (especially within healthcare settings), including when and how they "work." We recommend that future apps to support hand hygiene practice are developed with infection prevention and control experts and align with best practice. Robust research is needed to determine which innovative methods of engagement create "sticky" apps.
本研究旨在确定支持手部卫生实践的智能手机应用程序，并评估其内容、技术和功能特性以及质量。次要目的是为未来的应用程序提供设计和研究建议。
我们在英国的 Google Play 和 Apple App 商店中搜索了针对成人的手部卫生智能手机应用程序。提取并总结了有关内容、技术和功能特性的信息。两名评估者使用 IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics 功能评分和 Mobile App Rating Scale（MARS）评估每个应用程序。
共确定了 668 个应用程序，其中 90 个符合纳入标准。大多数（96%）可以免费下载。大多数（78%）旨在教育、告知或提醒用户洗手（69%），使用个性化和提示练习等行为改变技术。只有 20%和 4%分别命名了最佳实践指南或有专家参与开发。42%（例如，虚拟或增强现实或基于地理位置的提醒）使用了创新的参与方式。应用程序平均包含 IMS 功能标准的 2.4 分（范围 0-8）。平均 MARS 得分为 3.2±0.5（满分 5 分），68%的得分至少为 3 分，有两个应用程序已经过测试或试用。
尽管有许多手部卫生应用程序，但很少有提供最佳实践内容的应用程序。许多应用程序不符合质量的最低可接受标准，或者没有经过正式的试用或测试。研究应评估手部卫生应用程序（特别是在医疗保健环境中）的可行性和有效性，包括它们何时以及如何“起作用”。我们建议，未来支持手部卫生实践的应用程序应由感染预防和控制专家开发，并与最佳实践保持一致。需要进行强有力的研究，以确定哪些创新的参与方式可以创建“粘性”应用程序。
