Park Taehwan, Awah Deion, Doshi Nancy, Castor Chimene, Ravenell Joseph, Gousse Yolene
St. John's University, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Howard Univerity, Department of Nutritional Sciences.
Innov Pharm. 2023 Nov 9;14(3). doi: 10.24926/iip.v14i3.5488. eCollection 2023.
The rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic elicited a swift response to control the virus ubiquitous within the United States. Expanded telehealth and health informatics became critical components of the pandemic response. The aim of this study was to assess the utilization of the COVID-19 New York (NY) Alert App and identify the perceived benefits and limitations of the App. A cross-sectional design was employed to collect data by using questionnaires with closed-ended and open-ended questions. The survey was developed and administered during March through April 2021. The study found that the highest rated benefit from using the COVID-19 NY Alert App was receiving alerts about being in close proximity to individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. Results showed that ineffective (insufficient and inappropriate) usage was the highest rated potential challenge for using the App. Study subjects were likely to download this Alert App when they perceived more benefits and less barriers to using the App. Findings from this study can help improve utilization of the App and inform development of similar tele-education tools. The study illuminated considerations for health information applications in scaling-up traditional COVID-19 tracing efforts and may facilitate the design of similar emergency preparedness health technology.
新冠疫情的迅速爆发引发了美国对控制这种无处不在的病毒的迅速反应。扩大远程医疗和健康信息学成为疫情应对的关键组成部分。本研究的目的是评估新冠疫情纽约警报应用程序的使用情况，并确定该应用程序的感知益处和局限性。采用横断面设计，通过使用包含封闭式和开放式问题的问卷来收集数据。该调查于2021年3月至4月期间开展和实施。研究发现，使用新冠疫情纽约警报应用程序获得的最高评价益处是收到与新冠确诊患者近距离接触的警报。结果显示，无效（不足和不恰当）使用是该应用程序使用方面评价最高的潜在挑战。当研究对象认为使用该应用程序的益处更多且障碍更少时，他们更有可能下载此警报应用程序。本研究的结果有助于提高该应用程序的使用率，并为类似远程教育工具的开发提供信息。该研究阐明了在扩大传统新冠疫情追踪工作中健康信息应用的考量因素，并可能促进类似应急准备健康技术的设计。
