Effect of MyMAFI—A Newly Developed Mobile App for Field Investigation of Food Poisoning Outbreak on the Timeliness in Reporting: A Randomized Crossover Trial

Abstract

Prompt investigation of food poisoning outbreak are essential, as it usually involves a short incubation period. Utilizing the advancement in mobile technology, a mobile application named MyMAFI (My Mobile Apps for Field Investigation) was developed with the aim to be an alternative and better tool for current practices of field investigation of food poisoning outbreak. A randomized cross-over trial with two arms and two treatment periods was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the newly developed mobile application as compared to the standard paper-based format approach. Thirty-six public health inspectors from all districts in Kelantan participated in this study and they were randomized into two equal sized groups. Group A started the trial as control group using the paper-format investigation form via simulated outbreaks and group B used the mobile application. After a one-month ‘washout period’, the group was crossed over. The primary outcome measured was the time taken to complete the outbreak investigation. The treatment effects, the period effects and the period-by-treatment interaction were analyzed using Pkcross command in Stata software. There was a significant treatment effect with mean square 21840.5 and its corresponding F statistic 4.47 (p-value = 0.038), which indicated that the mobile application had significantly improve the reporting timeliness. The results also showed that there was a significant period effect (p-value = 0.025); however, the treatment by period interaction was not significant (p-value = 0.830). The newly developed mobile application—MyMAFI—can improve the timeliness in reporting for investigation of food poisoning outbreak.