24.4.20 Digital app to reduce viral transmission at home
News
Free to use, Germ Defence is an evidence-based app developed by health experts to help people reduce viruses in their home and protect themselves from COVID-19. In a study of over 20,000 patients, Germ Defence not only reduced the likelihood of a viral infection but illness reported was shorter and milder. It is still the only digital behavioural infection control intervention that has been proven to reduce the transmission of infections in the home.
Working with Professor Lucy Yardley and Dr Ben Ainsworth, the team developed and trialled this online intervention (http://germdefence.org) during the H1N1 pandemic among 20066 patients using the Person-Based-Approach, and then published it (the PRIMIT trial) in the Lancet (available at https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60127-1/fulltext). In the current context this supports public health advice (by employing behaviour change techniques such as personalised goal setting) that are not – and cannot be – provided in media and public health advice.
The Germ Defence team have been tasked through the UK COVID-19 funding call to rapidly update and adapt Germ Defence for dissemination within the coronavirus pandemic across different languages, including Chinese, Hindi, Thai, Indonesian and Italian. Versions are being finalised in German, French, Spanish, Turkish and Greek, with several other translations ongoing. If you or your colleagues would like to circulate a specific language version of Germ Defence, you can see the available versions here: https://bit.ly/germdefencelanguages. Requests for translations into languages currently not covered are speedily actioned wherever possible.
Colleagues at Wessex Academic Health Science Network have created a few tweets to support social media activity, copied below:
Germ Defence is a free, evidence-based app to help people protect themselves (& household members) from coronavirus through simple behaviours. Visit http://germdefence.org
Germ Defence: the only digital behavioural infection control tool proven to reduce transmission of infections at home. Trialled with 20000+ patients & free to use: germdefence.org
Simple steps to reduce viruses in your home & protect yourself from #COVID-19. Developed by health experts, Germ Defence reduced illness in 20000+ people. Visit germdefence.org
Germ Defence tells you how to prevent infection from COVID-19. Over 20000 users were less likely to catch viruses; illness was shorter & milder. Visit germdefence.org
Germ Defence is an evidence-based app from health experts to help people protect themselves from COVID-19 infection. Available in several languages & free to use: germdefence.org
Interested in sharing the GermDefence.org app to help prevent virus transmission & infection at home? Available in several languages: see https://bit.ly/germdefencelanguages
