EFFICACY OF STATE INTERVENTION AND PUBLIC RESPONSE IN THE CONTAINMENT OF COVID-19 : A NOTE ON AAROGYA SETU
Dr.V.Mohanasundaram Dr.C.Sriram · Journal of Critical Reviews · 2020
It is indeed well established that, the smartphone holds great potential to play a role in personalized healthcare and also aid in the following factors: good decision making, accurate diagnosis, patient compliance, effective monitoring of the condition and accurate interpretation of clinical results. It is all the most important in the present health crisis of a magnitude which is beyond our imagination. A host of measures are being taken by the local, regional, state and global level institutions of all types to find out an escape route from the Corona Virus and its unyielding spread. Among the several types of communication between the public and state: between the healthcare service providers and the corona patients : between the persons who are affected (both symptomatic and asymptomatic) and those who are having potential to be affected : and between the state machinery of all types and the target population, one effective tool is the mobile apps. Notwithstanding the popularity and rapidly increasing number of mobile health applications for the self-care of consumers / patients there is a proper need for research into consumer engagement with electronic self-monitoring. The introduction of Arogya Setu‟ by the Central Government in India has become the increasingly powerful smart phone and assumed as a useful aid in preventing the spread of the corona virus among the general public in India. To examine its efficacy, at the micro level a study has been done by a combination of online interview as well as personal interview with the two sets of people selected : one in a cosmopolitan city of Chennai (State Capital) and a remote village (Odayagoundenpalayam in Erode district). This helped to present a qualitative exploration of how the general public in Chennai and in the remote village perceived the uses of Arogya Setu‟ app for preventing corona virus spreading in homes and communities. The contrasting perception of the benefits from the use of Arogya Setu app, has been found as highly visible. On the basis of the findings a few suggestions for the improvement of this health app are put forward. Further, a brief discussion has been made on how the mobile health (mHealth) apps could be distributed in the near future, as well as, the impact of government regulations with respect to mHealth apps in the years to come. The conclusion highlights the challenges and opportunities for app developers in the mHealth industry in India.