¹國立成功大學醫學院附設醫院家庭醫學部、²國立成功大學醫學院醫學系家庭醫學科、³國立成功大學醫學院老年學研究所、⁴國立臺灣大學醫學院附設醫院小兒科、⁵國立臺灣大學醫學院附設醫院內科部感染科、⁶國立臺灣大學醫學院內科、⁷臺北醫學大學附設醫院感染科、⁸國立陽明大學醫學系內科、⁹三軍總醫院感染及熱帶醫學科、¹⁰陳宏麟診所、¹¹錦明耳鼻喉科診所、¹²衛生福利部、¹³黃振國診所
受理日期：114年10月14日 修改日期：114年11月30日 同意刊登：114年12月26日
^*通訊作者：黃振國
^†共同通訊作者
 

Development of a COVID-19 Risk Self-Assessment Tool for Adults in Taiwan
 
Chih-Hsing Wu^1-3, Li-Min Huang⁴, Yee-Chun Chen^5,6, Fu-Der Wang^7,8, Feng-Yee Chang⁹, Wang-Huei Sheng⁶, Hung-Lin Chen¹⁰, Ching-Ming Chou¹¹, Jen-Hsiang Chuang^12† and Cheng-Kuo Huang^13*
 

Purpose: The initiation of the “Co-Admin: Left Flu, Right COVID” (“Co-Admin”) vaccination policy in Taiwan initially succeeded in boosting COVID-19 vaccine coverage during the 2024-2025 season. However, as the outbreak stabilized, persistent information gaps regarding disease risks and vaccine safety and effectiveness contributed to a gradual decrease in public risk perception, vaccination intention and uptake. This underscored the urgent need for user-centered, evidence-based risk communication strategies to enhance the visibility and accessibility of accurate and reliable information.
Methods: We reviewed international COVID-19 risk assessment tools and integrated local surveillance data with evidence from international literature regarding high-risk populations. Guided by the principles of speed, user-friendliness, evidence-based and actionable design, and contextual relevance, we developed a localized, web-based COVID-19 self-assessment tool targeting publicly funded co-admin vaccination priority groups in Taiwan, such as older adults and individuals with chronic conditions. Experts were invited to evaluate the tool for ease of use, clinical utility, patient acceptability, and impact on self-efficacy. A pilot evaluation was also conducted with the general public to assess applicability.
Results: The tool was developed for use by healthcare providers and for self-completion by users. By incorporating age and comorbidities to stratify risk levels, the tool provides personalized visualization of the relative risk of severe outcomes and mortality following COVID-19 infection. A total of 48 experts evaluated the tool, reporting high ease of use (mean score 9.5; mean completion time 34.0 seconds).
 

¹Department of Family Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital; ² Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University; ³Institute of Gerontology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital; ⁴Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, and College of Medicine, National Taiwan
University, Taipei, Taiwan; ⁵Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; ⁶Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; ⁷Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; ⁸National Yang-Ming Chiao-Tung University, Taipei,
Taiwan; ⁹Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; ¹⁰Hung-Lin Chen Clinic; ¹¹Jin-Ming Ear, Nose & Throat Clinic; ¹²Ministry of Health and Welfare; ¹³Cheng-Kuo Huang Clinic
Received: October 14, 2025; Revised: November 30, 2025; Accepted: December 26, 2025.
Running title: COVID-19 Risk Self-Assessment Tool: Development and Application
^*Corresponding author
^†Co-Corresponding author