Hospital Epidemics Tracker (HEpiTracker): Description and Pilot Study of a Mobile App to Track COVID-19 in Hospital Workers
Soriano, J. B.; Fernandez, E.; de Astorza, A.; Pérez de Llano, Luis; Fernández Villar, José Alberto; Carnicer-Pont, D.; Alcazar-Navarrete, B.; Garcia, A.; Morales, A.; Lobo, M.; Maroto, M.; Ferreras, E.; Soriano, C.; Del Rio-Bermudez, C.; Vega-Piris, L.; Basagana, X.; Muncunill, J.; Cosio, B. G.; Lumbreras, S.; Catalina, C.; Alzaga, J. M.; Quilon, D. G.; Valdivia, C. A.; de Lara, C.; Ancochea, J.
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Identificadores
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Fecha de publicación
2020Título de revista
JMIR public health and surveillance
Tipo de contenido
Journal Article
DeCS
estado de salud | divulgación | neumonía | proyectos piloto | temperatura corporal | pandemias | mediana edad | humanos | cribado sistemático | adulto | vigilancia de la población | infecciones por Coronavirus | telemedicinaMeSH
Population Surveillance | Adult | Mass Screening | Pandemics | Middle Aged | Health Status | Coronavirus Infections | Pneumonia | Disclosure | Body Temperature | Telemedicine | Humans | Pilot ProjectsResumen
BACKGROUND: Hospital workers have been the most frequently and severely affected professional group during the COVID-19 pandemic, and have a big impact on transmission. In this context, innovative tools are required to measure the symptoms compatible with COVID-19, the spread of infection, and testing capabilities within hospitals in real time. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to develop and test an effective and user-friendly tool to identify and track symptoms compatible with COVID-19 in hospital workers. METHODS: We developed and pilot tested Hospital Epidemics Tracker (HEpiTracker), a newly designed app to track the spread of COVID-19 among hospital workers. Hospital staff in 9 hospital centers across 5 Spanish regions (Andalusia, Balearics, Catalonia, Galicia, and Madrid) were invited to download the app on their phones and to register their daily body temperature, COVID-19-compatible symptoms, and general health score, as well as any polymerase chain reaction and serological test results. RESULTS: A total of 477 hospital staff participated in the study between April 8 and June 2, 2020. Of note, both health-related (n=329) and non-health-related (n=148) professionals participated in the study; over two-thirds of participants (68.8%) were health workers (43.4% physicians and 25.4% nurses), while the proportion of non-health-related workers by center ranged from 40% to 85%. Most participants were female (n=323, 67.5%), with a mean age of 45.4 years (SD 10.6). Regarding smoking habits, 13.0% and 34.2% of participants were current or former smokers, respectively. The daily reporting of symptoms was highly variable across participating hospitals; although we observed a decline in adherence after an initial participation peak in some hospitals, other sites were characterized by low participation rates throughout the study period. CONCLUSIONS: HEpiTracker is an already available tool to monitor COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in hospital workers. This tool has already been tested in real conditions. HEpiTracker is available in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. It has the potential to become a customized asset to be used in future COVID-19 pandemic waves and other environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04326400; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04326400.
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