Designing a Mobile Application to Improve the Health of Arbaeen Mass Gatherings

Abstract

Background: The health of participants in mass gatherings (MGs) is a primary concern. Objectives: The researcher aimed to develop a comprehensive mobile application to improve the health of participants in the Arbaeen MG. Methods: This study utilized the cascade model. The first phase (initial analysis) involved a panel of 21 experts (doctors and nurses present at Arbaeen, infectious disease specialists, and nursing faculty members). In the next phase, the mobile app was designed. The testing phase involved two stages: Alpha and beta testing. The implementation phase focused on assessing the effectiveness of the application on the self-care knowledge of participants regarding common diseases during Arbaeen in a randomized clinical trial with 176 volunteers. Results: The alpha and beta tests showed satisfaction with the software’s ease of use and simplicity. In the implementation phase, 176 volunteers participated, including 84 men (47.7%) and 92 women (52.3%), with an average age [standard deviation (SD)] of 36.07 (11.24). The mean self-care knowledge (SD) before the intervention was 4.61 ± 2.56 and after the education, it was 6.41 ± 1.81. The comparison of self-care knowledge before and after the intervention, using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, showed a significant difference (P < 0.01). A comparison between groups using the Mann-Whitney U test also revealed a significant difference in self-care knowledge (P < 0.001). The self-assessment results demonstrated a significant difference between the groups, as indicated by the chi-square test (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The results of the study showed that the mobile application for improving the health of pilgrims is both acceptable and effective in empowering participants of the Arbaeen MG.