CoronaCheck
Afghanistan | Pakistan | Tanzania | Tajikistan | Kenya | Mozambique | Arabic-speaking nations
Globally, only a few healthcare systems are well-equipped to deal with the massive number of infections experienced during pandemics, as seen during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The CoronaCheck application, developed and launched by AKDN dHRC, consists of a self-assessment tool to help the general population screen themselves in the safety of their home and is equipped with educational videos to enhance understanding of the ever-evolving COVID-19 virus. The application along with the self- assessment tool is translated into the local languages, i.e., Urdu for Pakistan, Swahili for East Africa, and Tajik for Tajikistan, to help populations gain a comprehensive understanding of the virus and methods to lower their risk of infection from an authentic source.
The self-assessment tool is an interactive chatbot, which enables users to determine their risk of acquiring the disease based upon their responses regarding their symptoms and medical history. A counseling preface then guides the user to take appropriate physical distancing measures and guides users to get tested, if needed, or to take appropriate physical distancing measures if their risk is low. The self-assessment tool has been developed in collaboration with infectious disease experts at the Aga Khan University Hospital to meet the local context and the evolving epidemiology of the disease. The educational videos are sourced from the World Health Organization (WHO) and are updated on a regular basis.
CoronaCheck, available on the Google Play Store and App Store, was launched in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique and for Arabic-speaking countries in 2020 and received significant attention as the first of its kind digital self-screening application. Since its launch, there have been 100,000+ application downloads, while 86,352 users have completed self-assessment on the app.
The results reveal that 31% of those who used the self-assessment tool were suggested to seek immediate medical care (Plan A), while 27% were advised to seek non-urgent care through teleconsultations, without visiting a health facility (Plan B) and 42% were advised to only take precautions and social distancing measures (Plan C). CoronaCheck was able to help prevent unnecessary hospital visits in 69% of the cases, curbing risk of spread, while also ensuring that diagnostic testing in health facilities is only availed by those need it most.
CoronaCheck aims to strengthen existing health systems by addressing the need for rapid and early testing, screening, and awareness during global emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. At home self-screening leads to a considerable decrease in unnecessary visits to health facilities, ensuring critical resources, such as testing kits and health worker time, are efficiently allocated.
CoronaCheck was launched under the COVID-19 Innovation Research Project, which aims to conduct research on the effectiveness of three digital health interventions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including CoronaCheck.
CIRP is funded by the Government of Canada through the International Development Research Centre and the Aga Khan Foundation.
CoronaCheck is available for download on the Google Play Store and the App Store.