AUTHOR=Alharbi Nouf Sahal , Alsubki Nada , Altamimi Sara Rasheed , Alonazi Wadi , Fahlevi Mochammad 

TITLE=COVID-19 Mobile Apps in Saudi Arabia: Systematic Identification, Evaluation, and Features Assessment

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.803677

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.803677

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest global health threat in our century at the moment and the use of mobile health apps has been one  digital healthcare strategy adopted for coping with this outbreak. Objective: This study aims to identify and explore the  mobile applications that are currently being utilized for dealing with COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. Methods: The applications were selected based on the PRISMA guidelines, then the functionalities were extracted based on the COVID-19 application mind map. Finally, the quality of the apps was assessed using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) for overall quality, satisfaction, engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information. Results: The search identified six applications that were currently being used for COVID-19 which provided the following functionalities: self-assessment, self-isolation, permit for car mobility, prevention guidelines, COVID-19 lab results, call support, identifying nearby facilities, reporting suspected cases, and booking clinic appointments and the COVID-19 test. The findings showed that while most of these features were provided by multiple apps, on the MARS scale, the overall scores ranged from 3.26 to 3.69 with the apps scoring lower in the areas of satisfaction and engagement and higher in functionalities. Conclusions: Further steps are needed to unify all these functions in one health app to enhance the users’ experience