The Vaccination Process against the COVID-19: Opportunities, Problems and mHealth Support

Simeoni, Rossella; Maccioni, Giovanni; Giansanti, Daniele

doi:10.3390/healthcare9091165

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…In Japan, the COVID-19 vaccination certificate will be available via a QR code using a smartphone in December 2021 [ 35 ]. Thus, mobile apps can play an important role in promoting the COVID-19 vaccination programs and increasing their coverage [ 36 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile Apps Leveraged in the COVID-19 Pandemic in East and South-East Asia: Review and Content Analysis

Lee¹,

Ibrahim²,

Zhang³

2021

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic increased attention to digital tools to support governmental public health policies in East and South-East Asia. Mobile apps related to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to emerge and evolve with a wide variety of characteristics and functions. However, there is a paucity of studies evaluating such apps in this region, with most of the available studies conducted in the early days of the pandemic. Objective This study aimed to examine free apps developed or supported by governments in the East and South-East Asian region and highlight their key characteristics and functions. We also sought to interpret how the release dates of these apps were related to the commencement dates of other COVID-19 public health policies. Methods We systematically searched for apps in Apple App Store and Google Play Store and analyzed the contents of eligible apps. Mobile apps released or updated with COVID-19–related functions between March 1 and May 7, 2021, in Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, China (mainland), Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines were included. The CoronaNet Research Project database was also examined to determine the timeline of public health policy commencement dates in relation to the release dates of the included apps. We assessed each app’s official website, media reports, and literature through content analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize relevant information gathered from the mobile apps using RStudio. Results Of the 1943 mobile apps initially identified, 46 were eligible, with almost 70% of the apps being intended for the general public. Most apps were from Vietnam (n=9, 20%), followed by Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand (n=6 each, 13%). Of note, most apps for quarantine monitoring (n=6, 13%) were mandatory for the target users or a population subset. The most common function was health monitoring (32/46, 70%), followed by raising public health awareness (19/46, 41%) through education and information dissemination. Other functions included monitoring quarantine (12/46, 26%), providing health resources (12/46, 26%). COVID-19 vaccination management functions began to appear in parallel with vaccine rollout (7/46, 15%). Regarding the timing of the introduction of mobile solutions, the majority of mobile apps emerged close to the commencement dates of other public health policies in the early stages of the pandemic between March and April 2020. Conclusions In East and South-East Asia, most governments used mobile health apps as adjuncts to public health measures for tracking COVID-19 cases and delivering credible information. In addition, these apps have evolved by expanding their functions for COVID-19 vaccination.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile Apps Leveraged in the COVID-19 Pandemic in East and South-East Asia: Review and Content Analysis

Lee¹,

Ibrahim²,

Zhang³

2021

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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“…The role of social media in dissemination methods has been reiterated by several studies [29][30][31]. Social factors [32][33][34] are important regarding the taking root of the phenomenon that can lead to health risks, with not only indirect (for example, due to the avoidance of vaccines [34]) but also direct impacts on mental problems [35,36] and predisposition to suicide [37]. Among the most important countermeasures, we found those that combated the infodemic using the same tools that caused its spread such as social media and mobile technology.…”

Section: Considerations Emerging From the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent scoping review [32] that focused on the social impacts highlighted that particular socio-environmental conditions (e.g., low educational level and younger age), psychological processes and attitudes (such as low levels of epistemic trust, the avoidance of uncertainty, extraversion, collective narcissism, and a conspiracy-prone mindset), and contextual factors (e.g., high levels of self-perceived risk and anxiety) seemed to underpin the adherence to beliefs that are not solely the domain of paranoids and extremists but a widespread phenomenon that has caused important health, social, and political consequences during the pandemic. All of this, in the early stages of the pandemic, led to incorrect adherence to virus defense measures (such as wearing masks and social distancing), and now during the vaccination process, it is also (in addition to this) leading to avoidance by part of the population [33,34].…”

Section: The Social Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and the Infodemic: An Overview of the Role and Impact of Social Media, the Evolution of Medical Knowledge, and Emerging Problems

2022

Self Cite

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The infodemic is an important component of the cyber-risk in regard to the poor and uncontrolled dissemination of information related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to perform a narrative review based on three points of view to allow for an overall picture of this issue. The points of view focused on: (a) the volume of use of social media (a key element of the infodemic) and the position of international health domain bodies; (b) the evolution of scientific production in the life sciences; (c) emerging issues. The research methodology was based on Google and PubMed searches and a qualification process based on a standard checklist and an evaluation of eligibility based on parameters with five score levels applied by two experts (plus one in case of discrepancy). The three points of view stressed the key role of social media as a dissemination tool of the infodemic among citizens. The impact on citizens depends on various social factors and involves indirect (e.g., vaccine avoidance) and direct risks such as mental problems and the risk of suicide. The widespread diffusion of social media, conveyed by mobile technologies, also suggests their use as countermeasures, calibrated based on citizens’ level of both technological and health literacy. Effective and promising countermeasures in this direction are based both on initiatives of contact by apps or SMS and the collection of data based on surveys and finalized to the particular intervention. The review also suggests as further areas of in-depth research: (a) to combat high-level infodemic produced by scientific publications that are not yet official (preprint) or that have undergone peer review with bias/distortion; (b) focusing on the impact of the infodemic considering its spread in different languages.

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“…The recent resurgence of outbreaks of whooping cough and measles in children is a prime example of vaccination refusal associated with the resurgence of preventable communicable diseases in communities [ 13 ]. Although vaccination mHealth apps are attempting to address this issue, current results are mixed [ 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Separating Features From Functionality in Vaccination Apps: Computational Analysis

Shaw¹,

Nadkarni²,

Phann³

et al. 2022

JMIR Form Res

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Background Some latest estimates show that approximately 95% of Americans own a smartphone with numerous functions such as SMS text messaging, the ability to take high-resolution pictures, and mobile software apps. Mobile health apps focusing on vaccination and immunization have proliferated in the digital health information technology market. Mobile health apps have the potential to positively affect vaccination coverage. However, their general functionality, user and disease coverage, and exchange of information have not been comprehensively studied or evaluated computationally. Objective The primary aim of this study is to develop a computational method to explore the descriptive, usability, information exchange, and privacy features of vaccination apps, which can inform vaccination app design. Furthermore, we sought to identify potential limitations and drawbacks in the apps’ design, readability, and information exchange abilities. Methods A comprehensive codebook was developed to conduct a content analysis on vaccination apps’ descriptive, usability, information exchange, and privacy features. The search and selection process for vaccination-related apps was conducted from March to May 2019. We identified a total of 211 apps across both platforms, with iOS and Android representing 62.1% (131/211) and 37.9% (80/211) of the apps, respectively. Of the 211 apps, 119 (56.4%) were included in the final study analysis, with 42 features evaluated according to the developed codebook. The apps selected were a mix of apps used in the United States and internationally. Principal component analysis was used to reduce the dimensionality of the data. Furthermore, cluster analysis was used with unsupervised machine learning to determine patterns within the data to group the apps based on preselected features. Results The results indicated that readability and information exchange were highly correlated features based on principal component analysis. Of the 119 apps, 53 (44.5%) were iOS apps, 55 (46.2%) were for the Android operating system, and 11 (9.2%) could be found on both platforms. Cluster 1 of the k-means analysis contained 22.7% (27/119) of the apps; these were shown to have the highest percentage of features represented among the selected features. Conclusions We conclude that our computational method was able to identify important features of vaccination apps correlating with end user experience and categorize those apps through cluster analysis. Collaborating with clinical health providers and public health officials during design and development can improve the overall functionality of the apps.

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The Vaccination Process against the COVID-19: Opportunities, Problems and mHealth Support

Cited by 4 publications

References 59 publications

Mobile Apps Leveraged in the COVID-19 Pandemic in East and South-East Asia: Review and Content Analysis

Mobile Apps Leveraged in the COVID-19 Pandemic in East and South-East Asia: Review and Content Analysis

COVID-19 and the Infodemic: An Overview of the Role and Impact of Social Media, the Evolution of Medical Knowledge, and Emerging Problems

Separating Features From Functionality in Vaccination Apps: Computational Analysis

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