Older Adult Engagement With Symptom Reporting in a COVID-19 Citizen Science Application

Abstract

The current study examined the frequency and predictors of older adults' engagement with symptom reporting in COVIDWATCHER, a mobile health (mHealth) citizen science application. Citizen science is a type of participatory research that leverages information provided by community members. There were 1,028 COVIDWATCHER participants who engaged with symptom reporting between April 2020 and January 2021. Approximately 13.5% ( n = 139) were adults aged ≥65 years. We used a Wilcoxon test to compare the mean frequency of engagement with symptom reporting by older adults (i.e., aged ≥65 years) to younger adults (i.e., aged ≤64 years) and multivariable linear regression to explore the predictors of engagement with symptom reporting. There was a significant difference in engagement with symptom reporting between adults aged ≥65 years compared to those aged ≤64 years ( p < 0.001). In our final model, age (β = 26.0; 95% confidence interval [14.8, 34.2]) was a significant predictor for engagement with symptom reporting. These results help further our understanding of older adult engagement with mHealth-enabled citizen science for symptom reporting. [ Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 49 (4), 6–11.]

Citizen Science Studies in Nursing: A Systematic Review

“…The included studies were published between the years 2017 and 2023. They have been conducted in the United States of America [ 38 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ], Australia [ 39 , 45 , 46 ], France [ 40 ], and South Africa [ 42 ]. The qualitative methodology of data collection included different techniques, such as Photovoice [ 38 , 47 ], audio recordings [ 39 , 42 , 46 ], discussions [ 50 ], or questionnaires [ 44 , 49 ].…”

“…Nursing research with a citizen science (CS) focus was grouped into five areas: environmental health [ 38 , 43 , 44 , 47 ], environmental improvements [ 39 , 42 , 45 ], food safety [ 41 , 46 , 50 ], chronic diseases [ 40 ], and COVID-19 [ 48 , 49 ]. However, within these categories, there are diverse lines of inquiry.…”

“…The remaining articles were included in the areas of chronic diseases [ 40 ] and COVID-19 [ 48 , 49 ]. Regarding chronic diseases, it is not specified which ones are being studied, but citizen scientists, in this case patients, are used to generate ideas to improve medical care and meet their needs [ 40 ].…”

“…Regarding chronic diseases, it is not specified which ones are being studied, but citizen scientists, in this case patients, are used to generate ideas to improve medical care and meet their needs [ 40 ]. In the case of COVID-19, both cases focus on symptomatology, in one project through women [ 48 ] and in another working with an elderly population [ 49 ].…”

“…Among the technological tools, mobile applications were the most commonly used instrument for data collection, with 6 out of the 13 selected studies utilizing them [ 39 , 41 , 42 , 46 , 48 , 49 ]. The two studies published by Tuckett et al [ 39 , 46 ] and also the one published by Odunitan-Wayas et al used a mobile application called the Stanford Neighborhood Discovery Tool [ 42 ], a computerized participatory tool designed at Stanford University originally intended to help residents identify neighborhood features that affect their active life.…”