Tracking App Advances Scientific Understanding of COVID-19
Scientists use HWF app data to uncover top four predictive factors in new peer-reviewed study in Nature Human Behavior
The How We Feel tracking app was first launched in April 2020 by lifelong friends Ben Silbermann, CEO and Co-Founder of Pinterest, and Feng Zhang, CRISPR pioneer and core institute member at the Broad Institute of MIT. Having long discussed how to connect citizens to health researchers, the pair strategized a new app that collects longitudinal (across time) and geographically localized information using a one-minute check-in.
The app’s goal was to fill the gap left by inadequate COVID testing by collecting simple data about people’s demographics and zip code, then prompting users — healthy or not — to share how they’re feeling. If a person is not feeling well, they can also share their symptoms and health conditions. These daily health “check-ins” only take about 30 seconds, and doctors, researchers, and decision-makers are using the data to fight the spread of COVID-19.
Silbermann and Zhang worked with health experts like Xihong Lin, a leading statistical and epidemiological researcher, to analyze COVID-19 data and assist public health policies related to the pandemic. By combing through and analyzing data gathered from more than 500,000 users in the United States spanning April 2, 2020 to May 12, 2020, the team has uncovered some unique patterns through data analysis.
News You Can Use
While many people are using temperature as a proxy for whether they are free of COVID-19, our scientists found that by just asking four more questions you can increase the predictability that someone might have COVID-19 to eighty percent. In a new peer-reviewed study published in Nature Human Behavior, the team shared new leading factors to predict a positive COVID-19 test result better than we could with just CDC symptoms alone. They suggest that people who answer positive to the following questions self-isolate and obtain a test as soon as possible.
- Have you had a fever recently?
- Are you experiencing loss of taste and or smell?
- Were you exposed to someone with COVID-19? (If yes, do they live with you?)
- Does anyone in your household have COVID-19 symptoms?
Looking beyond the physical manifestations of the pandemic to explore the multiple dimensions of this crisis, the HWF app is now exploring emotional well-being. In partnership with top behavioral scientists like Marc Brackett, the How We Feel Project has created a new series of questions about the impact of the virus on the emotional well-being of individuals and their communities. This data will provide a new opportunity to connect citizens with the global health and research community.
More Information
More information on the model and process is available in the peer-reviewed paper: Population-scale Longitudinal aping of COVID-19 Symptoms, Behavior, and Testing Identifies Contributors to Continued Spread in the United States.
