MyShield: Development of a Mobile-Based Self-Care Application for COVID-19 Prevention Using the ADDIE Model. an Offer for Undeveloped Countries (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Mobile applications play an important role in the management, care, and prevention of infectious diseases, thereby playing a significant role in self-care. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to design, develop, and evaluate an educational mobile-based self-care application in order to help the self-prevention of the COVID-19 disease in undeveloped countries. METHODS The self-care management application was designed using the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) educational model. The application’s usability and its impact were tested by 27 participants using two questionnaires: Mobile Health App Usability (MAUQ) and Self-Care Inventory (SCI). The study design implied pre- and post-testing. The self-care management application was designed using the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) educational model. The application’s impact was tested by 27 participants using the questionnaire Self-Care Inventory (SCI). The study design implied pre-and post-testing. RESULTS An Android application called MyShield was developed. The results of pre- and post-tests show that MyShield has a performance average of 4.17 in the physical health dimension, and an average of 3.88 in mental wellbeing (on a scale range 0 to 5), and thus shows positive effects on self-care skills. In terms of usability and satisfaction, MyShield received the highest score on the "Interface and Satisfaction” component, followed by “Ease of use” and “Usefulness”. CONCLUSIONS MyShield facilitates learning self-care skills at home and during quarantine and increases information acquisition. Given its low development cost and ADDIE educational design on which it is based, the application has to be considered quite helpful in undeveloped countries.