ArticleJMIR research protocols2022
Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Symptom Checker Apps in Primary Health Care (CHECK.APP): Protocol for an Interdisciplinary Mixed Methods Study.
Article in JMIR research protocols, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring Laypersons' Experiences With a Mobile Symptom Checker App as an Interface Between eHealth Literacy, Health Literacy, and Health-Related Behavior: Qualitative Interview Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Exploring Self-Reported Symptoms for Developing and Evaluating Digital Symptom Checkers for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Endometriosis, and Uterine Fibroids: Exploratory Survey Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Unveiling Usage Patterns and Explaining Usage of Symptom Checker Apps: Explorative Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- The Doctors, Their Patients, and the Symptom Checker App: Qualitative Interview Study With General Practitioners in Germany.JMIR human factors · 2024Article
- "That's just Future Medicine" - a qualitative study on users' experiences of symptom checker apps.BMC medical ethics · 2024Article
- Assessment of a Digital Symptom Checker Tool's Accuracy in Suggesting Reproductive Health Conditions: Clinical Vignettes Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2023Article
- Impacts of Symptom Checkers for Laypersons' Self-diagnosis on Physicians in Primary Care: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSymptom checker apps (SCAs) are accessible tools that provide early symptom assessment for users. The ethical, legal, and social implications of SCAs and their impact on the patient-physician relationship, the health care providers, and the health care system have sparsely been examined. This study protocol describes an approach to investigate the possible impacts and implications of SCAs on different levels of health care provision. It considers the perspectives of the users, nonusers, general practitioners (GPs), and health care experts.
objectiveWe aim to assess a comprehensive overview of the use of SCAs and address problematic issues, if any. The primary outcomes of this study are empirically informed multi-perspective recommendations for different stakeholders on the ethical, legal, and social implications of SCAs.
methodsQuantitative and qualitative methods will be used in several overlapping and interconnected study phases. In study phase 1, a comprehensive literature review will be conducted to assess the ethical, legal, social, and systemic impacts of SCAs. Study phase 2 comprises a survey that will be analyzed with a logistic regression. It aims to assess the user degree of SCAs in Germany as well as the predictors for SCA usage. Study phase 3 will investigate self-observational diaries and user interviews, which will be analyzed as integrated cases to assess user perspectives, usage pattern, and arising problems. Study phase 4 will comprise GP interviews to assess their experiences, perspectives, self-image, and concepts and will be analyzed with the basic procedure by Kruse. Moreover, interviews with health care experts will be conducted in study phase 3 and will be analyzed by using the reflexive thematical analysis approach of Braun and Clark.
resultsStudy phase 1 will be completed in November 2021. We expect the results of study phase 2 in December 2021 and February 2022. In study phase 3, interviews are currently being conducted. The final study endpoint will be in February 2023.
conclusionsThe possible ethical, legal, social, and systemic impacts of a widespread use of SCAs that affect stakeholders and stakeholder groups on different levels of health care will be identified. The proposed methodological approach provides a multifaceted and diverse empirical basis for a broad discussion on these implications.
trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) DRKS00022465; https://tinyurl.com/yx53er67. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/34026.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.