ReviewNature biotechnology2022
Smartphone apps in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Review in Nature biotechnology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 102 citations in OpenAlex.
- Predicting low oxygen in patients with acute COVID-19 infection isolating at home: a clinical prediction model.BMJ open respiratory research · 2026Trial
- Feasibility of wearable sensor signals and self-reported symptoms to prompt at-home testing for acute respiratory viruses in the USA (DETECT-AHEAD): a decentralised, randomised controlled trial.The Lancet. Digital health · 2024Trial
- Leveraging AI for infectious disease modelling and public health decision making.BMC proceedings · 2026Article
- App-based epidemic game in a university campus reveals how risk perception and behavioral interventions shape disease transmission dynamics.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Proteomics in the Diagnosis of Viral and Pathogenic Infections.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Discrimination and technology-based disease control.PloS one · 2026Article
- Network-based proactive contact tracing: A pre-emptive, degree-based alerting framework for privacy-preserving COVID-19 apps.PLOS digital health · 2025Article
- Monitoring People With COVID-19 at Home With the COVIDFree@Home Program: Feasibility Cohort Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Multilayer networks describing urban interactions for building the digital twins of five cities in Spain.Scientific data · 2025Article
- Social Listening in Infodemic Management: Insights from Preparatory Work on Ethical Guidance.Asian bioethics review · 2025Article
- An overview of reviews on digital health interventions during COVID- 19 era: insights and lessons for future pandemics.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Integrating artificial intelligence with mechanistic epidemiological modeling: a scoping review of opportunities and challenges.Nature communications · 2025Article
- A pragmatic double blind remote pilot feasibility randomised controlled trial of a self-management app for people with Sjögren disease.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
- Epidemiological methods in transition: Minimizing biases in classical and digital approaches.PLOS digital health · 2025Review
- Predictors of the continuous use of an infectious disease self-management app for epidemiological investigations: a survey of young and middle-aged adults in South Korean citizens.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Review
- Optimizing COVID-19 testing resources use with wearable sensors.PLOS digital health · 2024Article
- Contextual Acceptance of COVID-19 Mitigation Mobile Apps in the United States: Mixed Methods Survey Study on Postpandemic Data Privacy.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Improving COVID-19 contact tracing and testing of exposed individuals in Cameroon using digital health technology: a cluster randomised trial.EClinicalMedicine · 2024Article
- The Use of COVID-19 Mobile Apps in Connecting Patients with Primary Healthcare in 30 Countries: Eurodata Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, analog tools such as nasopharyngeal swabs for PCR tests were center stage and the major prevention tactics of masking and physical distancing were a throwback to the 1918 influenza pandemic. Overall, there has been scant regard for digital tools, particularly those based on smartphone apps, which is surprising given the ubiquity of smartphones across the globe. Smartphone apps, given accessibility in the time of physical distancing, were widely used for tracking, tracing and educating the public about COVID-19. Despite limitations, such as concerns around data privacy, data security, digital health illiteracy and structural inequities, there is ample evidence that apps are beneficial for understanding outbreak epidemiology, individual screening and contact tracing. While there were successes and failures in each category, outbreak epidemiology and individual screening were substantially enhanced by the reach of smartphone apps and accessory wearables. Continued use of apps within the digital infrastructure promises to provide an important tool for rigorous investigation of outcomes both in the ongoing outbreak and in future epidemics.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.