Use of a smartphone app to inform healthcare workers of hospital policy during a pandemic such as COVID-19: A mixed methods observational study | Zendy

R. I. Helou | Zendy; C. M. Waltmans–den Breejen | Zendy; Juliëtte A. Severin | Zendy; Marlies Hulscher | Zendy; Annelies Verbon | Zendy

Open Access

Use of a smartphone app to inform healthcare workers of hospital policy during a pandemic such as COVID-19: A mixed methods observational study

Author(s) -

R. I. Helou,

C. M. Waltmans–den Breejen,

Juliëtte A. Severin,

Marlies Hulscher,

Annelies Verbon

Publication year - 2022

Publication title -

plos one

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99

H-Index - 332

ISSN - 1932-6203

DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0262105

Subject(s) - covid-19 , medicine , pandemic , health care , phone , observational study , smartphone app , guideline , telemedicine , analytics , medical emergency , family medicine , world wide web , computer science , disease , linguistics , philosophy , data science , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , economics , economic growth

Objective To evaluate the use of a COVID-19 app containing relevant information for healthcare workers (HCWs) in hospitals and to determine user experience. Methods A smartphone app (Firstline) was adapted to exclusively contain local COVID-19 policy documents and treatment protocols. This COVID-19 app was offered to all HCWs of a 900-bed tertiary care hospital. App use was evaluated with user analytics and user experience in an online questionnaire. Results A total number of 1168 HCWs subscribed to the COVID-19 app which was used 3903 times with an average of 1 minute and 20 seconds per session during a three-month period. The number of active users peaked in April 2020 with 1017 users. Users included medical specialists (22.3%), residents (16.5%), nurses (22.2%), management (6.2%) and other (26.5%). Information for HCWs such as when to test for SARS-CoV-2 (1214), latest updates (1181), the COVID-19 telephone list (418) and the SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 guideline (280) were the most frequently accessed advice. Seventy-one users with a mean age of 46.1 years from 19 different departments completed the questionnaire. Respondents considered the COVID-19 app clear (54/59; 92%), easy-to-use (46/55; 84%), fast (46/52; 88%), useful (52/56; 93%), and had faith in the information (58/70; 83%). The COVID-19 app was used to quickly look up something (43/68; 63%), when no computer was available (15/68; 22%), look up / dial COVID-related phone numbers (15/68; 22%) or when walking from A to B (11/68; 16%). Few respondents felt app use cost time (5/68; 7%). Conclusions Our COVID-19 app proved to be a relatively simple yet innovative tool that was used by HCWs from all disciplines involved in taking care of COVID-19 patients. The up-to-date app was used for different topics and had high user satisfaction amongst questionnaire respondents. An app with local hospital policy could be an invaluable tool during a pandemic.

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