ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2021
An App-Based Intervention to Support First Responders and Essential Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Needs Assessment and Mixed Methods Implementation Study.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- An app to keep: smartphone-based dispatch of community first responder to cardiac arrest.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2025Article
- Mobile Apps to Support Mental Health Response in Natural Disasters: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Emergency medical service interventions and experiences during pandemics: A scoping review.PloS one · 2024Article
- Disparity in Occupational Health Risk During the Pandemic: Potential Misestimation and Its Implications for Health Policies.Journal of occupational and environmental medicine · 2022Article
- Views on the usability and usefulness of the PeerConnect app among Ontario public safety professionals.Digital healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for first responders (eg, police, fire, and emergency medical services) and nonmedical essential workers (eg, workers in food, transportation, and other industries). Health systems may be uniquely suited to support these workers given their medical expertise, and mobile apps can reach local communities despite social distancing requirements. Formal evaluation of real-world mobile app-based interventions is lacking.
objectiveWe aimed to evaluate the adoption, acceptability, and appropriateness of an academic medical center-sponsored app-based intervention (COVID-19 Guide App) designed to support access of first responders and essential workers to COVID-19 information and testing services. We also sought to better understand the COVID-19-related needs of these workers early in the pandemic.
methodsTo understand overall community adoption, views and download data of the COVID-19 Guide App were described. To understand the adoption, appropriateness, and acceptability of the app and the unmet needs of workers, semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted by telephone, by video, and in person with first responders and essential workers in the San Francisco Bay Area who were recruited through purposive, convenience, and snowball sampling. Interview transcripts and field notes were qualitatively analyzed and presented using an implementation outcomes framework.
resultsFrom its launch in April 2020 to September 2020, the app received 8262 views from unique devices and 6640 downloads (80.4% conversion rate, 0.61% adoption rate across the Bay Area). App acceptability was mixed among the 17 first responders interviewed and high among the 10 essential workers interviewed. Select themes included the need for personalized and accurate information, access to testing, and securing personal safety. First responders faced additional challenges related to interprofessional coordination and a "culture of heroism" that could both protect against and exacerbate health vulnerability.
conclusionsFirst responders and essential workers both reported challenges related to obtaining accurate information, testing services, and other resources. A mobile app intervention has the potential to combat these challenges through the provision of disease-specific information and access to testing services but may be most effective if delivered as part of a larger ecosystem of support. Differentiated interventions that acknowledge and address the divergent needs between first responders and non-first responder essential workers may optimize acceptance and adoption.
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