Zach Gilbert
NEWS EDITOR
To prevent the spread of COVID-19 on campus during the Fall 2020 semester, the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) have teamed up to create 1-Check UNO, a COVID-19 symptom self-screening app.
1-Check UNO is an extension of the original 1-Check COVID app, which was created this past April thanks to an interdisciplinary effort across UNO and UNMC. The original app was designed to help make people aware of their overall health and assist them in making better-informed decisions regarding safety precautions.
As soon as an individual opens the 1-Check COVID app, they are asked to answer a series of questions about potential COVID-19 symptoms (such as shortness of breath, cough, fever and more). Upon completion, they receive an assessment of their risk for COVID-19 infection based on the latest guidance from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and clinicians at UNMC.
In addition, this assessment would come with a recommendation on how an individual should proceed based on their screening response. However, this recommendation was not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment—instead, it was merely meant to provide supplemental advice on how to best keep oneself safe or seek proper assistance.
1-Check UNO builds off the success of the 1-Check COVID app, and it has been made available exclusively for UNO faculty, staff and students. Though the two apps share similar assessment capabilities, 1-Check UNO additionally sends an individual’s results and recommendations straight to the UNO Office of Health Security, which then monitors the transmission of COVID-19 on campus. This data is not accessible to any outside networks.
UNO and UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., offered thanks to the medical and public health experts at UNMC and to the computer science and computer engineering students within the Walter Scott, Jr. Scholarship program at UNO for their work in creating the 1-Check UNO app in a recent announcement.
“We’re grateful for the development team for creating this unique app that can be tailored to each campus,” Gold said. “In addition to wearing masks, social distancing and frequent hand hygiene, this self-screening tool is yet another way we can protect and monitor our campus community and, if necessary, quickly adjust campus functions based on the real time reported data.”
Gold actively advises all faculty, staff and students who plan on being physically present on campus this semester to download and use the 1-Check UNO app to self-screen for symptoms ahead of arrival. If they or someone in their house are sick, or if their 1-Check UNO app advises them to stay home, they are asked to avoid coming to campus.
The 1-Check COVID app is available to a national audience on all iOS and Android platforms. 1-Check UNO requires a separate download from 1-Check COVID, and it is intended solely for the UNO community. It is currently available on all Apple devices and on the web. An Android version will soon be available on Google Play.
