Cognition and demand on mobile medical application among urban residents of Lanzhou city

Objective To examine the status quo of cognition and demand on mobile medical application (APP) among urban residents in Lanzhou city of Gansu province for the development and improvement of the mobile medical APP.Methods A self-administered questionnaire survey was carried out among 816 adult urban residents selected with stratified random cluster sampling in Lanzhou city between July and August 2015.Results The awareness rate of mobile medical APP was very low among the participants,with the ratios of 16.4% and 13.5% of the participants correctly answering the two questions on the characteristics of mobile medical APP and the items of medical service provided by mobile medical APP.The middle-aged and elderly participants (≥ 45 years old)showed a significantly lower awareness about mobile medical APP and utilization ratios of the three APP items (‘a doctor like a friend in need’,‘asking a doctor in time’,and ‘a good doctor’) than the young participants (<45 years old)(P<0.05 for all).The ratios of the participants reporting the willingness to utilize mobile medical APP for seeking medication,making an appointment with a doctor,and buying pharmaceutical product were of 38.8%,38.9%,and 35.6%,respectively,with the lower ratios among the middle-aged and elderly participants than among the young participants (P<0.05 for all).Conclusion The awareness rate and utilization rate of mobile medical application are low among adult urban residents in Lanzhou city and related education programs need to be promoted with a great effort among the residents.