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www.coronabambini.ch: Development and usage of an online decision support tool for paediatric COVID-19-testing in
Carl Alessandro Starvaggi1, Nicola Travaglini2, Christoph Aebi3
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Inselspital University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland carlalessandro.starvaggi@insel.ch.
Insights
The Coronabambini website effectively translated public health guidelines for children during the pandemic. It provided insights into disease epidemiology and policy adherence, highlighting the potential of digital health tools.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Health Informatics
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid dissemination of public health guidelines, particularly for vulnerable pediatric populations.
- Existing communication channels struggled to translate complex guidelines into actionable information for caregivers and educators.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the development and usage of www.coronabambini.ch, a pediatric electronic public health application.
- To explore its potential and limitations in providing information on disease epidemiology and public health policy implementation.
Main Methods:
- Development and maintenance of a non-commercial online decision support tool (www.coronabambini.ch).
- Translation of Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) COVID-19 guidelines for children (age 0-18).
- Analysis of tool usage data and voluntary follow-up surveys (October 2020 - September 2021).
Main Results:
- 68,269 users accessed the tool, with 52,726 completing it; 92% were parents.
- The tool reflected pandemic dynamics, showing higher gastrointestinal symptom reporting in younger children (0-5 years).
- User behavior shifted following policy changes, e.g., increased consultations after loosened testing criteria for school contact.
Conclusions:
- www.coronabambini.ch demonstrated high usage and potential for depicting epidemiological patterns and public health policy adherence.
- Selection bias remains a challenge in utilizing digital decision support tools for public health surveillance.
- The application successfully translated complex guidelines, showcasing the value of digital health tools in public health communication.
Objectives:
To describe the development and usage of www.coronabambini.ch as an example of a paediatric electronic public health application and to explore its potential and limitations in providing information on disease epidemiology and public health policy implementation.
Design:
We developed and maintained a non-commercial online decision support tool, www.coronabambini.ch, to translate the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) paediatric (age 0-18 years) COVID-19 guidelines around testing and school/daycare attendance for caregivers, teachers and healthcare personnel. We analysed the online decision tool as well as a voluntary follow-up survey from October 2020 to September 2021 to explore its potential as a surveillance tool for public health policy and epidemiology.
Participants:
68 269 users accessed and 52 726 filled out the complete online decision tool. 3% (1399/52 726) filled out a voluntary follow-up. 92% (18 797/20 330) of users were parents.
Results:
Certain dynamics of the pandemic and changes in testing strategies were reflected in the data captured by www.coronabambini.ch, for example, in terms of disease epidemiology, gastrointestinal symptoms were reported more frequently in younger age groups (13% (3308/26 180) in children 0-5 years vs 9% (3934/42 089) in children ≥6 years, χ2=184, p≤0.001). As a reflection of public health policy, the proportion of users consulting the tool for a positive contact without symptoms in children 6-12 years increased from 4% (1415/32 215) to 6% (636/9872) after the FOPH loosened testing criteria in this age group, χ2=69, p≤0.001. Adherence to the recommendation was generally high (84% (1131/1352)) but differed by the type of recommendation: 89% (344/385) for 'stay at home and observe', 75% (232/310) for 'school attendance'.
Conclusions:
Usage of www.coronabambini.ch was generally high in areas where it was developed and promoted. Certain patterns in epidemiology and adherence to public health policy could be depicted but selection bias was difficult to measure showing the potential and challenges of digital decision support as public health tools.
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