| Abstract (ENG): |
Introduction Fueled by the wide availability of cellular networks and mobile phones, mobile health (mHealth) applications have become widely used to expand access to care and are being used to monitor communicable diseases1,2. The Covid-19 pandemic, which started in 2019, has put healthcare and public health systems around the globe under immense pressure. mHealth applications have been identified as an essential mechanism to control the spread of Covid-19, and a multitude of apps have been developed3,4. This study aims to give an overview of apps for Covid-19 in Germany and assess these apps using the German Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS-G)5. Methods Both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store were systematically searched to identify apps for Covid-19 using the regional setting Germany and the following search terms: “Corona, Corona Warn App deutsch, Corona App, Robert Koch-Institut, Kontaktdaten, Kontaktdaten verfolgen, Covid-19 App, Covid-19 App deutsch, Covid-19”. Only apps available for both operating systems (OS) were included in the analysis to reduce potential bias because of the price differences of smartphones running the different OS. Apps included had to be available in Germany and the German language. In addition, apps meeting the following criteria were excluded: 1) city or county-specific, 2) apps in a pilot stage, and 3) scheduling apps for vaccinations and Covid testing. The MARS-G, a translated and validated version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale, was used to assess the applications included in the analysis5,6. Two trained raters independently evaluated the quality of the included apps, each rater using both a device with Android OS and iOS. Rating differences of 2 and greater were resolved. Results The search was performed on June 6, 2021, and yielded 64 (Google Play Store) and 157 (Apple App Store) results. Fifty apps were available in both app stores, and six apps were extracted for analysis based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Table 1 shows the apps included in the study and their characteristics. All apps are free of charge and do not offer in-app purchases. The overall quality of the six rated apps was good (overall 4.15). The best-rated apps were NINA (4.34) and Corona Health App (4.29). The highest-rated sections were functionality (4.4), aesthetics (4.25), and information (4.25). The lowest-rated area was engagement (3.63). Discussion The target audience for all but one app is private citizens. The overall quality of the apps is rated high, despite the short development time of the apps. The fact that all but one applications were developed by federal institutions or a public academic institution could explain the high Information quality rating. The low scores in the engagement section show that there is still room for improvement to increase the uptake of Covid-19 apps in Germany. This study is limited by the fact that apps were searched and downloaded on June 6, 2021. Given the dynamic of the Covid-19 situation, apps get updated often. In addition, the luca app received a high rating but has been heavily criticized for its security vulnerability, which is not reflected in the rating7. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first study that identified and assessed Covid-19 apps available in app stores in Germany. The study has shown that despite the good quality in aspects such as information and functionality, there is still room for improvement in the engagement section. |
| Citation: |
Holl, Felix and Flemisch, Fabian and Swoboda, Walter and Schobel, Johannes
(2021)
Apps for Covid-19 in Germany : Assessment Using the Mobile Application Rating Scale.
In: (Proceedings of the) AMIA 2021 Annual Symposium, October 30 - November 3, 2021, San Diego, CA, USA, pp. 1389-1390.
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