Abstract
The use of mobile technology and equipment has been found to be successful in the governance of public health. In the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, mobile health (mhealth) apps are expected to play an important role in the governance of public health. This study establishes a structural equation model based on the digital content value chain framework, identifies the main values created by mhealth apps in the prevention and control of COVID-19, and surveys 500 citizens of China. The data were analyzed using an independent t-test and partial least squares structural equations (PLS-SEM). The results showed that people who use mhealth apps are more satisfied with public health governance than those who do not; the healthcare assurance value of mhealth apps and healthcare confidence positively influence the interaction between users and mhealth app functions, the interaction with information, and the interaction with doctors to improve users’ satisfaction with public health governance; and the parasocial relationships between doctors and users of mhealth apps positively affect the interactions between users and doctors to improve users’ satisfaction with public health governance. This study confirms the potential of mhealth apps toward improving public health governance during the COVID-19 pandemic from a new perspective and provides a new theoretical basis whereby mobile technology can contribute toward improving public health governance.
Highlights
Public health governance aims to prevent diseases, extend life, and promote health through organized social efforts, and it focuses on the impact of social conditions on health, such as the health system, social conditions, and the link between inequality and poor health [1]
The healthcare assurance value created by mhealth apps had a positive impact on user–function interactions, user–information interactions, and user–doctor interactions in this study, which verifies that the functional value of the digital content (DC) proposed by Kim and Kim [22] promotes and expands user–system interactions
This means that the healthcare assurance value created by mhealth apps for users during the COVID-19 pandemic actively promotes the interactions between users and information and doctors in mhealth apps
Summary
Public health governance aims to prevent diseases, extend life, and promote health through organized social efforts, and it focuses on the impact of social conditions on health, such as the health system, social conditions, and the link between inequality and poor health [1]. The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has compelled the world to invest a substantial amount of anti-epidemic materials, which has exacerbated the pressure on public health and medical resources. It even affects daily medical care [2]. To reduce the risk of cross-infection, people are reluctant to visit medical institutions, even when they have health problems. Individuals use mhealth apps to obtain health information for immediate diagnosis [11]
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