JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Mobile health (mHealth) apps have played an important role in mitigating the COVID-19 response. However, there is no resource that provides a holistic picture of what are the available mHealth apps that have been developed to combat this pandemic.

Objective:

Our aim was to scope the evidence base on apps that were developed in response to COVID-19.

Methods:

Following the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews, literature searches were conducted on Google Search, Google Scholar and PubMed using the country’s name as keywords, and “COVID-19”, “coronavirus”, “contact tracing”, “symptom monitoring”, “information providing apps”, “mHealth” and “mobile apps”. Countries most affected by COVID-19 and those that rolled out COVID-19-related apps first were included.

Results:

Thirty-nine articles were reviewed from 15 countries, resulting in a total of 25 apps. Among them, 14 apps (56%) were on contact tracing, 7 (28%) on symptom monitoring and one (4%) on information provision. More than half (64%) were from governmental sources, while one-quarter (24%) were from private organizations/universities. Four apps (16%) were available on either Android or iOS, but 6 (24%) were available on both platforms. Nine apps (36%) used Bluetooth for collecting data, 7 apps (28%) used Global Positioning Systems, while 12 (48%) used other forms of data collection.

Conclusions:

This review has identified that majority of COVID-19 apps were for contact tracing and symptom monitoring. However, these apps are effective only if taken up by the community. The sharing of good practices across different countries can enable governments to learn from each other and develop effective strategies to combat and manage this pandemic. Clinical Trial: NA