Managing COVID-19 and health vulnerabilities: mHealth user experience, information quality and policy recommendations

The interplay between how people use mobile health (mHealth) technologies and its quality information for managing their health vulnerabilities in line with their protected characteristics is unclear. This paper examines the intersections between mHealth users’ experiences, information quality issues, and everyday health vulnerabilities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic by drawing on the theory of planned behaviour. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 63 participants across three cities: Accra, Lagos and London, to illustrate how barriers to mHealth adoption, and information quality issues, including security and privacy concerns, interact to shape the mHealth user experience. The findings show that key barriers to mHealth user experience and health information quality vary considerably across location and protected characteristics. The paper calls for inclusive and quality mHealth systems in managing health vulnerabilities towards assuring pandemic preparedness and response and, therefore, contributes to scholarship on the interconnected need for quality information in the context of COVID-19, and the implications for mHealth user experience and healthcare delivery.