Objective To examine the utilization of mobile medical application (MAPP) and its influencing factors among residents in Shandong province and to provide evidences for promoting the utilization of MAPP in the residents.
Methods We conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey among 1 080 residents recruited with stratified multistage random sampling in three cities of Shandong province from January to April 2018. Descriptive analysis, chi-square test, rank sum test and binary logistic regression analysis were used in data analyses.
Results Of the 980 residents with valid responses, 35.2% reported the utilization of MAPP. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed following significant influencing factors of MAPP utilization among the responders: whether having children (yes vs. no: odds ratio OR = 2.873, 95% confidence interval 95% CI: 1.785 – 4.625), whether suffering from chronic diseases (yes vs. no: OR = 1.820, 95% CI: 1.099 – 3.015), annual frequency of visiting a doctor (high vs. low: OR = 0.559, 95% CI: 0.418 – 0.748), the knowledge about MAPP (good vs. poor: OR = 2.607, 95% CI: 2.111 – 3.219), the overall evaluation on MAPP (high vs. low: OR = 1.660, 95% CI: 1.216 – 2.266), the trust in MAPP (high vs. low: OR = 1.456, 95% CI: 1.098 – 1.930), and whether searching for medical information during previous 6 months (yes vs. no: OR = 2.874, 95% CI: 1.637 – 5.045).
Conclusion The utilization rate of mobile medical application is low among residents in Shandong province and specific strategies need to be developed to promote the utilization of the mobile medical service among the residents.
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