Two students at NIIT Ghana, Augustine Danso and Bentil Shadrack, have developed an application to aid in the fight against COVID-19. The application is a self-diagnosis question screener for those experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. The app then providers the user with advice on what to do next.
According to the developers, the COVID-19 self-assignment risk scanner is an online web application designed to help users predict their health status based on inputs and options submitted regarding the COVID-19 disease.
The online scanner is developed based on the guidelines by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Ghana Health Service. The app aids in assessment of users in the comfort of their homes before going to see a doctor.
To begin with, the user is required to provide basic information such as age, gender and body temperature. Users are then asked whether they experience symptoms such as cold, dry cough or sore throat and how severe it is. Users are asked of travel history or if they have come into contact with another person with similar symptoms including those confirmed with COVID-19.
The app also considers already existing health issues such as diabetes, kidney problems, high blood pressure and lung disease for the assessment.
The online scanner suggests safety precautionary measures if one’s scan results is low, medium or high. The user is allowed to share his or her test results with a nickname on the app. This is to influence others in testing, thereby knowing their status. A statement from NIIT stressed that the application does not store personal information, symptoms or location. The results displayed are solely based on the inputs provided.
