| Creators: |
Holl, Felix and Flemisch, Fabian and Swoboda, Walter and Schobel, Johannes |
| Title: |
Apps for Covid-19 in Germany: assessment using the German Mobile App Rating Scale |
| Item Type: |
Article or issue of a publication series |
| Projects: |
DigiHealth |
| Journal or Series Title: |
JAMIA Open |
| Page Range: |
Paper ooac082 |
| Additional Information: |
Open Access: A single-blind peer-review, online-only, and Gold Open Access journal |
| Date: |
2022 |
| Divisions: |
Gesundheitsmanagement |
| Abstract (ENG): |
Objective
The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of apps to help control the spread of Covid-19 in Germany and rate them according to standardized instruments.
Materials and methods
The Apple App Store and Google Play Store were systematically searched to identify apps dealing with Covid-19 in Germany. The German Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS-G) was used to independently assess app quality by 2 trained reviewers.
Results
Overall, the quality of the 6 rated apps was good with a mean score of 4.15 (3.88–4.34). The best-rated apps were NINA app (4.34) and Corona Health App (4.29). The best-rated sections were functionality (4.40), aesthetic (4.25), and information (4.25). In contrast, the worst-rated section was engagement (3.63). Even though some of the apps were used by more people than others, there was no correlation between the MARS-G rating and app store rating. In addition, the MARS-G proved to be effective even with rating apps, which have different goals and methods to achieve them.
Conclusions
To our knowledge, this is the first study that identified and evaluated German Covid-19 mobile health apps available in the German app stores. The review shows that despite the excellent quality in aspects like information and functionality, there is still a gap in the engagement section. To motivate more people to use the Covid-19 apps, new ideas are needed, besides more information and education about the functionality of the apps, to gain trust in app developers and raise the number of downloads. |
| Forthcoming: |
No |
| Language: |
English |
| Link eMedia: |
Download |
| Citation: |
Holl, Felix and Flemisch, Fabian and Swoboda, Walter and Schobel, Johannes
(2022)
Apps for Covid-19 in Germany: assessment using the German Mobile App Rating Scale.
JAMIA Open, 5 (4).
Paper ooac082.
ISSN 2574-2531
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