Health Observation App for COVID-19 Symptom Tracking Integrated With Personal Health Records: Proof of Concept and...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Digital Health

Background:

• Urgent need for efficient out-of-hospital health observation systems to counter COVID-19 spread.
• Personal Health Records (PHRs) are suitable for daily health management and can be adapted for COVID-19 symptom tracking.
• Existing PHR apps can be integrated with COVID-19 specific observation items.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a proof-of-concept PHR-based app for COVID-19 symptom tracking in a real-world setting.
• To showcase the practical utility of integrated PHRs for monitoring infectious diseases like COVID-19.
• To validate the use of smartphone/tablet apps for efficient health observations.

Main Methods:

• Integrated COVID-19 specific health observation items into an existing PHR app.
• Applied the app in an active epidemiological investigation with close contacts of COVID-19 cases.
• Utilized email for data transmission from health observers to public health centers.
• Employed a spreadsheet macro for localized epidemiological officers to visualize and monitor data.

Main Results:

• The app was used by 57 out of 72 close contacts during the investigation.
• Shifted health observation from a 2-hour+ telephone interview process for 4 officers to a single officer's management.
• The app achieved over 20,280 users and 400 facilities/organizations across Japan by mid-May.
• Health observation for COVID-19 is now a recognized requirement for resuming social activities.

Conclusions:

• PHR-based health observation is effective for managing large-scale infectious diseases.
• Promoting personal health awareness and PHR use strengthens defenses against infectious disease spread.
• This approach can significantly contribute to preventing the spread of COVID-19 and similar future outbreaks.