JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

QR codes have played an integral role during the pandemic in many sectors, but they have been little used in the healthcare sector, especially by the patients. Albeit some authors have stated that developing specific content for women on how to cope with health problems could be an effective way to prevent problems, especially in times of pandemics, there is little research regarding the use of QR codes to promote health during a pandemic, and even fewer focused on women. Moreover, although the importance of assessing these interventions from the users' perspective has been stated, research carried out from this point of view is still scarce.

Objective:

This research aimed to assess the usefulness of using QR codes with information to promote women's health in the context of a pandemic. We also sought to design and validate a questionnaire to assess this.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted among women in the gynecology waiting rooms of a reference hospital. Exploratory factorial analysis (EFA), Cronbach's alpha and Split-half method were performed for questionnaire validation. Univariant and bivariant analyses were performed to analyze the data obtained.

Results:

One hundred eighty-six women took part in the research. The EFA identified two domains, patients' usability and applicability for medical consultations. Cronbach's alpha was 0.81. 83.7% of the answers to the first domain and 56.4% to the second were favorable. Women with university studies or who had used QR codes before scored better the usability, while no differences were found in the applicability score.

Conclusions:

Using QR codes in the consultations' waiting rooms can help promote women's health during a pandemic, regardless of their education level or whether having used QR codes before. The questionnaire developed is a useful tool to assess this. These findings are important for clinical practice. This research can be performed in other ambits, specialties, or countries.