Developing a mobile app to promote the poison control services

Abstract

Background: Poison exposure is the 2nd leading cause of injury and death to children 0-5 years in the U.S. However, parents are largely unaware of poisoning risks, often confused about poisoning prevention strategies and unfamiliar with poison control centers. Over 300,000 mobile apps have been developed in the last three years. The most used mobile apps in the U.S. are games (nullgamingnull), news, maps, social networking and music. The average smartphone user has 40 apps on their phone. Data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers shows over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications accounting for the majority of exposures in children. In a series of recent focus groups, parents also reported concern around colorful nullpillsnull that can be mistaken for a treat. Objective: Choose the most popular mobile application (app) platform, create and launch a free mobile app, and determine if could be a valuable part of an overall marketing strategy for a poison control program. Methods: Consumer feedback about how people were playing a popular online poison awareness game led to the consideration of a mobile app. Adult consumers described playing along with their children, teachers reported using the game in elementary and middle school classrooms, and pharmacy students related playing against each other. An large number of consumers reported using an internet browser on a mobile device to play. This led to the conception, design and coding of an app version of the game in 3 weeks. Users can also add 1-800-222-1222 to their contacts list with one click. The app was submitted to Apple, vetted and placed in the Apple App Store in 10 days. A Spanish version has been submitted. A promotion and media strategy heavily targeting bloggers, tech websites, and health reporters was implemented. Results: The free English app, launched for National Poison Prevention Week 2011, had 200 downloads in its first week, reached 1039 downloads within 3 weeks and has a 5 star rating from reviewers. Conclusions: The first gaming app for poisoning prevention and service promotion generated over 25 media mentions and articles on traditional news and blogging sites nationally, raising the visibility of poison centers and the issue of poisoning prevention. Gaming has enormous potential to help disseminate public health messages in a fun, engaging and creative way.