Novel Methods in the Surveillance of Influenza-Like Illness in Germany Using Data From a Symptom Assessment App (Ada): Observational Case Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Participatory epidemiology is an emerging field harnessing consumer data entries of symptoms. The free app Ada allows users to enter the symptoms they are experiencing and applies a probabilistic reasoning model to provide a list of possible causes for these symptoms.

Objective

The objective of our study is to explore the potential contribution of Ada data to syndromic surveillance by comparing symptoms of influenza-like illness (ILI) entered by Ada users in Germany with data from a national population-based reporting system called GrippeWeb.

Methods

We extracted data for all assessments performed by Ada users in Germany over 3 seasons (2017/18, 2018/19, and 2019/20) and identified those with ILI (report of fever with cough or sore throat). The weekly propo

SUBMITTER: Cawley C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8722671 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature