"That's just Future Medicine" - a qualitative study on users' experiences of symptom checker apps.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Symptom checker apps (SCAs) are mobile or online applications for lay people that usually have two main functions: symptom analysis and recommendations. SCAs ask users questions about their symptoms via a chatbot, give a list with possible causes, and provide a recommendation, such as seeing a physician. However, it is unclear whether the actual performance of a SCA corresponds to the users' experiences. This qualitative study investigates the subjective perspectives of SCA users to close the empirical gap identified in the literature and answers the following main research question: How do individuals (healthy users and patients) experience the usage of SCA, including their attitudes, expectations, motivations, and concerns regarding their SCA use?

Methods

A qual

SUBMITTER: Muller R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10874001 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature