Validity of a mobile Phone-based application tool for COVID-19 self-screening

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 outbreak is proving to be a unique disaster in many countries across the globe. Screening and diagnosis are challenges in resource-limited countries, as confirmation with reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) are expensive and less accessible.
Objectives: The goal of this study was to assess the validity of a newly created mobile phone application tool as a COVID-19 self-screening approach as compared with the gold standard reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test (RT-PCR).
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1029 individuals for validity assessment of a newly developed COVID-19 screening tool by having PCR test results as a reference. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, maintaining all the COVID-19 prevention protocols. SPSS version 25 was used to analyze the data.
Results: A total of 1005 participants were included in the study, which made the response rate close to 97.7%. The mean age of the respondents was 37(SD=±15.62) years; 574 (57.1%) were males and 366(36.4%) were in the age category of 40 years and above. The current study identified that the internal consistency of Cronbach’s alpha was 0.769. The validity analysis
result of the tool revealed that it has a sensitivity of 77.6% with 31.6% of positive predictive value and specificity of 46.4% with 86.5% of negative predictive value. Moderate to severe symptom was significantly associated with RT-PCR test positivity with a p-value ≤0.0001 and OR of 5.259(95% CI: 3.500, 7.900).
Conclusion: The mobile application tool is found to be a reliable tool with a good level of sensitivity and specificity for use as a primary symptom-based self-screening of COVID-19. Therefore, we recommend the use of this screening test tool. It is easily accessible and hence an effective way of reaching the population affected by the disease for early detection of
symptomatic patients and taking appropriate measures.