Abstract
Objective
To evaluate the quality of mobile apps on syphilis prevention and control.
Methods
A descriptive and evaluative study of mobile apps in virtual environments. The search was operationalized from January to February 2020, on Android and IOS platforms. The following guiding question was defined: “What is the quality of mobile apps on syphilis prevention and control available in virtual stores?” The keywords “Syphilis”, “Sífilis” and “syphilis prevention” were used as a search strategy in the stores. The apps were evaluated by three authors, through the Mobile App Rating Scale, aimed at assessing the quality of mobile health apps. The data were presented in synoptic charts and tables.
Results
Ten apps were included, all available free of charge for the Android operating system. The overall mean score of the apps was 2.8, not reaching the minimum acceptability score of 3.0. App engagement was evaluated with a mean of 2.2, functionality with 3.7, aesthetics with 2.8 and information contained in apps with a mean of 2.6.
Conclusion and implications for the practice
It was evidenced that the quality of apps on syphilis should be improved. There is an urgent need to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions for syphilis prevention and control.
Keywords:
Education in Health; Sexually Transmitted Infections; Disease Prevention; Syphilis; Information Technology
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Source: Research data.