A survey on knowledge and awareness among Indian citizens toward application to fight against COVID-19: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is one of the greatest public health risks that the world has ever seen in the past 100 years. The global impact of COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid growth and the use of mobile health applications. Certain measures taken to prevent the spread of the disease include contact tracing, testing, and isolation. The main aim of this survey was to assess knowledge and awareness among Indian citizens toward application to fight against COVID-19. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, web-based survey conducted during the peak period of the pandemic to assess knowledge and awareness among 489 Indian citizens toward application to fight against COVID-19. Using Google Forms, an online semi-structured questionnaire with informed consent form was generated. The survey link was sent through online platforms such as WhatsApp, e-mails, and Facebook to the investigator contacts. Chi-square test was used to determine the level of association between the variables. Results: The survey results showed that out of 489 participants, 99.5% (P < 0.001) heard about COVID-19 apps. Majority of participants, that is, 84.5% and 81.8% believed that these apps helped to protect them and community from COVID-19 and helped in self-assessment test for infection mitigation, respectively. Nearly 69.9% of participants believed that the purpose of these apps was to track COVID-19 cases, to help general population to fight against COVID-19, and to prevent spread of COVID-19 cases. Almost 85.5% of participants found that Aarogya Setu app was most beneficial for them. More than half of participants, that is, 58.9% believed that these apps alert users when they come in proximity to an infected person. Conclusion: This survey demonstrates strong public support for app-based contact tracing to tackle with COVID-19 pandemic. Majority of individuals agreed that these applications are informative and helped general population in self-assessment test and contact tracing. During this distress situation and a severe shortage oftesting facilities, the self-risk assessment function available in the apps can help identify the patients at risk for COVID-19.