Department of Healthcare Service Management, Graduate School of Health and Welfare, Dankook University, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea.
College of Liberal Arts, Dankook University, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea.
Front Public Health. 2024 Mar 27;12:1343734. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1343734. eCollection 2024.
Numerous COVID-19-related apps were widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them, those supporting epidemiological investigations were particularly useful. This study explored the effectiveness of apps that support epidemiological investigations, factors influencing users' intention to use them, and ways to encourage their use.
We developed and evaluated the KODARI app to demonstrate its importance in epidemiological investigations. After adapting a questionnaire based on an existing evaluation framework for COVID-19-related apps, we collected data from 276 participants through an online survey conducted between April 28 and May 25, 2023. We conducted two independent sample -tests to determine the differences between each variable according to demographic characteristics and a multiple regression analysis to identify factors affecting intention to use.
Users were generally satisfied with the KODARI. We observed differences in sex, age, marital status, occupational characteristics, and experience with epidemiological investigation. Females rated the app's information accuracy higher than males. Males had a higher intention to use than females. Participants aged under 35 years rated information accuracy and transparency highly, whereas single participants rated information accuracy higher than married participants. Occupational groups with frequent interactions with others evaluated their self-determination regarding the application. The app's self-determination was highly valued among participants with experience in epidemiological investigations. By investigating the factors affecting the intention to use the app, we confirmed that effectiveness, self-determination, and usability significantly affected the intention to use.
This study demonstrated the effectiveness of app supporting epidemiological investigations, identified meaningful factors that influence intention to use, and confirmed the applicability of our new framework by considering the specificity of infectious disease situations such as COVID-19. This study provides a new basis for future epidemiological studies.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，出现了许多与 COVID-19 相关的应用程序。在这些应用程序中，支持流行病学调查的应用程序特别有用。本研究探讨了支持流行病学调查的应用程序的有效性、影响用户使用意愿的因素以及鼓励使用的方法。
我们开发并评估了 KODARI 应用程序，以展示其在流行病学调查中的重要性。在根据现有 COVID-19 相关应用程序评估框架改编问卷后，我们于 2023 年 4 月 28 日至 5 月 25 日通过在线调查收集了 276 名参与者的数据。我们进行了两次独立样本 t 检验，以根据人口统计学特征确定每个变量之间的差异，并进行多元回归分析，以确定影响使用意愿的因素。
用户对 KODARI 应用程序的满意度普遍较高。我们观察到性别、年龄、婚姻状况、职业特征和流行病学调查经验的差异。女性对应用程序信息准确性的评价高于男性。男性比女性更有使用意愿。年龄在 35 岁以下的参与者对信息准确性和透明度评价较高，而单身参与者对信息准确性的评价高于已婚参与者。与他人频繁互动的职业群体对应用程序的自主决策进行了评估。有流行病学调查经验的参与者高度重视应用程序的自主决策。通过调查影响使用意愿的因素，我们确认了有效性、自主性和可用性显著影响使用意愿。
本研究证明了支持流行病学调查的应用程序的有效性，确定了影响使用意愿的有意义因素，并通过考虑 COVID-19 等传染病情况的特殊性，确认了我们新框架的适用性。本研究为未来的流行病学研究提供了新的依据。
