Effects and utility of an online forward triage tool during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a mixed method study and patient perspectives, Switzerland
Objective To assess the effects (quantitatively) and the utility (qualitatively) of a COVID-19 online forward triage tool (OFTT) in a pandemic context.Design A mixed method sequential explanatory study was employed. Quantitative data of all OFTT users, between 2 March 2020 and 12 May 2020, were coll...
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| Format: | Article |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2022-07-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/7/e059765.full |
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| author | Thomas C Sauter Wolf E Hautz Martin Müller Meret E Ricklin Janet Michel Annette Mettler Raphael Stuber Philipp Jent |
| author_facet | Thomas C Sauter Wolf E Hautz Martin Müller Meret E Ricklin Janet Michel Annette Mettler Raphael Stuber Philipp Jent |
| author_sort | Thomas C Sauter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective To assess the effects (quantitatively) and the utility (qualitatively) of a COVID-19 online forward triage tool (OFTT) in a pandemic context.Design A mixed method sequential explanatory study was employed. Quantitative data of all OFTT users, between 2 March 2020 and 12 May 2020, were collected. Second, qualitative data were collected through key informant interviews (n=19) to explain the quantitative findings, explore tool utility, user experience and elicit recommendations.Setting The working group e-emergency medicine at the emergency department developed an OFTT, which was made available online.Participants Participants included all users above the age of 18 that used the OFTT between 2 March 2020 and 12 May 2020.Intervention An OFTT that displayed the current test recommendations of the Federal Office of Public Health on whether someone needed testing for COVID-19 or not. No diagnosis was provided.Results In the study period, 6272 users consulted our OFTT; 40.2% (1626/4049) would have contacted a healthcare provider had the tool not existed. 560 participants consented to a follow-up survey and provided a valid email address. 31.4% (176/560) participants returned a complete follow-up questionnaire. 84.7% (149/176) followed the recommendations given. 41.5% (73/176) reported that their fear was allayed after using the tool. Qualitatively, seven overarching themes emerged namely (1) accessibility of tool, (2) user-friendliness of tool, (3) utility of tool as an information source, (4) utility of tool in allaying fear and anxiety, (5) utility of tool in medical decision-making (6) utility of tool in reducing the potential for onward transmissions and (7) utility of tool in reducing health system burden.Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that a COVID-19 OFTT does not only reduce the health system burden but can also serve as an information source, reduce anxiety and fear, reduce potential for cross infections and facilitate medical decision-making. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-73b6649ecf804b4581648e0d903eb4bd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-73b6649ecf804b4581648e0d903eb4bd2025-01-31T21:05:09ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-07-0112710.1136/bmjopen-2021-059765Effects and utility of an online forward triage tool during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a mixed method study and patient perspectives, SwitzerlandThomas C Sauter0Wolf E Hautz1Martin Müller2Meret E Ricklin3Janet Michel4Annette Mettler5Raphael Stuber6Philipp Jent71 Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital, Berne, SwitzerlandCenter for Educational Measurement, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway2 Department of Internal Medicine I, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, GermanyDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Inselspital, University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandObjective To assess the effects (quantitatively) and the utility (qualitatively) of a COVID-19 online forward triage tool (OFTT) in a pandemic context.Design A mixed method sequential explanatory study was employed. Quantitative data of all OFTT users, between 2 March 2020 and 12 May 2020, were collected. Second, qualitative data were collected through key informant interviews (n=19) to explain the quantitative findings, explore tool utility, user experience and elicit recommendations.Setting The working group e-emergency medicine at the emergency department developed an OFTT, which was made available online.Participants Participants included all users above the age of 18 that used the OFTT between 2 March 2020 and 12 May 2020.Intervention An OFTT that displayed the current test recommendations of the Federal Office of Public Health on whether someone needed testing for COVID-19 or not. No diagnosis was provided.Results In the study period, 6272 users consulted our OFTT; 40.2% (1626/4049) would have contacted a healthcare provider had the tool not existed. 560 participants consented to a follow-up survey and provided a valid email address. 31.4% (176/560) participants returned a complete follow-up questionnaire. 84.7% (149/176) followed the recommendations given. 41.5% (73/176) reported that their fear was allayed after using the tool. Qualitatively, seven overarching themes emerged namely (1) accessibility of tool, (2) user-friendliness of tool, (3) utility of tool as an information source, (4) utility of tool in allaying fear and anxiety, (5) utility of tool in medical decision-making (6) utility of tool in reducing the potential for onward transmissions and (7) utility of tool in reducing health system burden.Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that a COVID-19 OFTT does not only reduce the health system burden but can also serve as an information source, reduce anxiety and fear, reduce potential for cross infections and facilitate medical decision-making.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/7/e059765.full |
| spellingShingle | Thomas C Sauter Wolf E Hautz Martin Müller Meret E Ricklin Janet Michel Annette Mettler Raphael Stuber Philipp Jent Effects and utility of an online forward triage tool during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a mixed method study and patient perspectives, Switzerland BMJ Open |
| title | Effects and utility of an online forward triage tool during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a mixed method study and patient perspectives, Switzerland |
| title_full | Effects and utility of an online forward triage tool during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a mixed method study and patient perspectives, Switzerland |
| title_fullStr | Effects and utility of an online forward triage tool during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a mixed method study and patient perspectives, Switzerland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects and utility of an online forward triage tool during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a mixed method study and patient perspectives, Switzerland |
| title_short | Effects and utility of an online forward triage tool during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a mixed method study and patient perspectives, Switzerland |
| title_sort | effects and utility of an online forward triage tool during the sars cov 2 pandemic a mixed method study and patient perspectives switzerland |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/7/e059765.full |
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