COVID Symptom Tracker app launched in Sweden

Researchers from Lund University in Sweden have released a free app to help map the spread of infection in Sweden and increase awareness of the coronavirus.

“The app data will give us a clearer picture of the development of the disease and why some people only experience mild symptoms, while others become seriously ill and die,” says Paul Franks, professor of genetic epidemiology.

It takes approximately one minute per day to answer simple questions about your health, but it could contribute to a reduction in the spread of COVID-19. The objective of the application is to discover:

• which parts of Sweden are at high risk of infection
• what behavioral factors increase a person’s risk of adverse outcomes and how underlying health conditions affect risk
• how fast is the virus spreading in different parts of Sweden

The application is used in the United Kingdom, the USA. USA And it will launch in India soon. It was originally developed by doctors and researchers at King’s College London and Guys and St Thomas Hospitals together with developers from the health sciences company ZOE Global Ltd.

When the coronavirus outbreak started, the app developed quickly. The COVID Symptom Tracker makes it possible for the public to report symptoms, and thus provides researchers with an overview of the national health status. The collected data is regularly channeled to the National Health Service in the UK to assist decision-making. Thanks to an existing research collaboration, researchers at the University of Lund also had the opportunity to quickly adapt the app for use in Sweden.

Professor Paul Franks believes the tool can provide decision-makers with valuable information about how contagious the virus is and what drives its spread.

“Because there are so few that are testing for the virus in Sweden at the moment, it is difficult to understand how widely it spreads. Therefore, we have offered the Swedish Public Health Agency access to the results that we will collect with the app, hoping it will help inform their decisions, “he says.

The information collected through the application indicates which symptoms are linked to COVID-19.

“We already know that fever, cough and breathing difficulties are symptoms to consider. However, the information collected with the application in other countries shows that headaches, muscle aches and loss of smell and taste as well as diarrhea can also be symptoms of infection, “says María Gómez, a professor of physiology, who along with Paul Franks has played an active role in working to launch the app in Sweden.

Importantly, the app is not a diagnostic tool, nor does it collect data such as names, personal identification numbers, addresses, or phone numbers. Participants provide an email address when they first create a user account, but email addresses are not included in the research database. The location of the application user is based only on the first two digits of the postal code to protect the identity of the user. GPS data is not collected, and the app does not attempt in any way to track user movements.

All information is managed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and will only be used for research and not for commercial purposes. The use of the app and participation in the research study is voluntary and the study has been approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority.

The researchers encourage as many people as possible to use the app daily until the pandemic is under control.

“The only thing you do is report things related to your symptoms and circumstances. If you are healthy, we want to know that too! The more people use the application, the better,” concludes María Gómez. We are happy to have colleagues from Uppsala University on our team and hope that this can quickly become a joint national effort to fight COVID-19.