“Aarogya Setu”- India’s COVID-19 contact tracing mobile application: an assessment of awareness and utility among residents of India during the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors

  • Sumeet Juneja National Cold Chain Vaccine Management and Resource Centre (NCCVMRC), National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), New Delhi, India
  • Snehil Singh National Cold Chain Vaccine Management and Resource Centre (NCCVMRC), National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), New Delhi, India
  • Sanjay Gupta National Cold Chain Vaccine Management and Resource Centre (NCCVMRC), National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), New Delhi, India
  • Roopesh Gupta National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), New Delhi, India
  • Shashikant Ray National Cold Chain Vaccine Management and Resource Centre (NCCVMRC), National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), New Delhi, India
  • Arpita Gupta National Cold Chain Vaccine Management and Resource Centre (NCCVMRC), National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), New Delhi, India
  • J. P. Shivdasani National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), New Delhi, India
  • Harshad Thakur National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), New Delhi, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20211238

Keywords:

Aarogya Setu, Awareness, COVID-19, India, Utility

Abstract

Background: As the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, various steps were taken to curb its spread. Government of India introduced contact tracing “Aarogya Setu” app. In this study we assessed the awareness and utility of the app among the residents of India which in turn affects its usage.

Methods: This was a community based online cross-section survey. The snowball sampling technique was used for data collection. The questionnaire was developed to understand the knowledge and practices pertaining to COVID-19 but for publication purpose, items related to Aarogya Setu application have been analysed. The data was collected in the 1st week of July 2020. Frequency tables for various socio-demographic details of the participants were formed. Chi Square test of significance was used to analyse the awareness and utility of the app against sociodemographic characteristics.

Results: Majority of the participants were aware about the app, using it and found it useful. The awareness and use of the app was found to be significantly associated with gender, age, education and occupation and the usefulness was found to be significantly associated with gender and occupation. Awareness was found to be higher among males, age group 45-59 years, with professional degree and government employees.

Conclusions: These findings can be taken by policy makers while considering promotion of the application. Future steps should involve developing relevant training and communication material to enhance the use of the application

Author Biography

Harshad Thakur, National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), New Delhi, India

Director

 

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Published

2021-03-25

How to Cite

Juneja, S., Singh, S., Gupta, S., Gupta, R., Ray, S., Gupta, A., Shivdasani, J. P., & Thakur, H. (2021). “Aarogya Setu”- India’s COVID-19 contact tracing mobile application: an assessment of awareness and utility among residents of India during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 8(4), 1802–1808. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20211238

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Section

Original Research Articles