COVID-19 Mobile Apps in Saudi Arabia: Systematic Identification, Evaluation, and Features Assessment

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the greatest global health threat in our century at the moment, and the use of mobile health apps has been one digital healthcare strategy adopted for coping with this outbreak. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify and explore the mobile applications that are currently being utilized for dealing with COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: The applications were selected based on the (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) PRISMA guidelines, then the functionalities were extracted based on the COVID-19 application mind map. Finally, the quality of the apps was assessed using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) for overall quality, satisfaction, engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information. RESULTS: The search identified six applications that were currently being used for COVID-19 which provided the following functionalities: self-assessment, self-isolation, permit for car mobility, prevention guidelines, COVID-19 lab results, call support, identifying nearby facilities, reporting suspected cases, and booking clinic appointments and the COVID-19 test. The findings showed that while most of these features were provided by multiple apps, on the MARS, the overall scores ranged from 3.26 to 3.69 with the apps scoring lower in the areas of satisfaction and engagement and higher in functionalities. CONCLUSION: Further steps are needed to unify all these functions in one health app to enhance the users' experience.