scholarly journals Contact tracing apps for the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic literature review of challenges and future directions for neo-liberal societies

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Akinbi ◽  
Mark Forshaw ◽  
Victoria Blinkhorn
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Liberal Societies ◽  
Public Health Authorities

Abstract Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has spread with increased fatalities around the world and has become an international public health crisis. Public health authorities in many countries have introduced contact tracing apps to track and trace infected persons as part of measures to contain the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2. However, there are major concerns about its efficacy and privacy which affects mass acceptance amongst a population. This systematic literature review encompasses the current challenges facing this technology and recommendations to address such challenges in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in neo-liberal societies. Methods The systematic literature review was conducted by searching databases of Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, PsycInfo and ScienceDirect using the search terms (“Contact Tracing” OR “Contact Tracing apps”) AND (“COVID-19” OR “Coronavirus”) to identify relevant literature. The searches were run against the title, keywords, or abstract, depending on the search platforms. The searches were conducted between January 1, 2020, through 31st January 2021. Further inputs were also taken from preprints, published government and technical reports. We explore and discuss from the selected literature, the key challenges and issues that influence unwillingness to use these contact tracing apps in neo-liberal societies which include the plausibility of abuse of user privacy rights and lack of trust in the government and public health authorities by their citizens. Other challenges identified and discussed include ethical issues, security vulnerabilities, user behaviour and participation, and technical constraints. Results and conclusion Finally, in the analysis of this systematic literature review, recommendations to address these challenges, future directions, and considerations in the use of digital contact tracing apps and related technologies to contain the spread of future pandemic outbreaks are presented. For policy makers in neo-liberal societies, this study provides an in-depth review of issues that must be addressed. We highlight recommendations to improve the willingness to use such digital technologies and could facilitate mass acceptance amongst users.

scholarly journals Contact tracing apps for COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges and potential

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Akinbi ◽  
Mark Forshaw ◽  
Victoria Blinkhorn
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Privacy Rights ◽  
User Privacy ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Liberal Societies ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
User Data

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread with increased fatalities around the world and has become an international public health crisis. Public health authorities in many countries have introduced contact tracing apps to track and trace infected persons as part of measures to contain the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, there are major concerns about its efficacy and privacy with affects mass acceptance amongst a population. This review encompasses the current challenges facing this technology in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in neo-liberal societies. We explore and discuss the plausibility for abuse of user privacy rights as such apps collect private user data and can be repurposed by governments for surveillance on their citizens. Other challenges identified and discussed include ethical issues, security vulnerabilities, user behavior and participation, and technical constraints. Finally, in the analysis of this review, recommendations to address these challenges and considerations in the use of less invasive digital contact tracing technologies for future pandemics are presented. For policy makers in neo-liberal societies, this study provides an in-depth review of issues that must be addressed, highlights recommendations to improve the efficacy of such apps, and could facilitate mass acceptance amongst users.

scholarly journals Fueling the Covid-19 pandemic: summer school holidays and incidence rates in German districts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Plümper ◽  
Eric Neumayer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Summer School ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Robert Koch Institute ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Holiday Period ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities

AbstractBackgroundThe Robert-Koch-Institute reports that during the summer holiday period a foreign country is stated as the most likely place of infection for an average of 27 and a maximum of 49% of new SARS-CoV-2 infections in Germany.MethodsCross-sectional study on observational data. In Germany, summer school holidays are coordinated between states and spread out over 13 weeks. Employing a dynamic model with district fixed effects, we analyze the association between these holidays and weekly incidence rates across 401 German districts.ResultsWe find effects of the holiday period of around 45% of the average district incidence rates in Germany during their respective final week of holidays and the 2 weeks after holidays end. Western states tend to experience stronger effects than Eastern states. We also find statistically significant interaction effects of school holidays with per capita taxable income and the share of foreign residents in a district’s population.ConclusionsOur results suggest that changed behavior during the holiday season accelerated the pandemic and made it considerably more difficult for public health authorities to contain the spread of the virus by means of contact tracing. Germany’s public health authorities did not prepare adequately for this acceleration.

scholarly journals COVID-19 as Viewed by The Pathologist: A Rapid Literature Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Callea
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Disease Duration ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
Critical Data ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Key Word ◽  
Public Health Authorities

The current coronavirus outbreak represents a severe threat to public health worldwide. Finding measures to properly manage and prevent the epidemic is ongoing, right now practitioners and public health authorities need immediate, actionable information. Basic science and medical scientific disciplines have quickly produced a quantity of publications never seen with other emergencies, with a risk of exaggerated information and non-evidence-based measures. This rapid literature review of PubMed®/MEDLINE publications from January 20 to April 20, 2020 using COVID-19 as main key-word resulted in over 6.000 articles, with around 600 reviews. The contributions were subsequently clustered in subgroups according to journal sources and preselected areas of reference. Results were aggregated into 4 categories: supported, promising controversial and critical data. This Review has revealed a major criticality: only seven pathology articles were based on post-mortem material (minimally invasive autopsies/biopsies) . Dealing with an unknown disease, autopsies are indispensable to understand pathogenetic mechanisms, in order to rationalize therapeutic interventions. Even more important is to adopt a dedicated protocol aimed at correlating pathological findings with disease duration, patient location (home, hospital ward, ICU), and, for each period, symptoms, and treatment. Autopsy reports should not be released before a multidisciplinary discussion by hospital Root Cause Analysis or Morbidity/Mortality conferences. Telepathology is not a suitable means for such studies.

scholarly journals The Dutch COVID-19 Contact Tracing App (the CoronaMelder): Usability Study

10.2196/27882 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. e27882
Author(s):  
Britt Elise Bente ◽  
Jan Willem Jaap Roderick van 't Klooster ◽  
Maud Annemarie Schreijer ◽  
Lea Berkemeier ◽  
Joris Elmar van Gend ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Usability Tests ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Lower Education

Background Adoption and evaluation of contact tracing tools based on information and communications technology may expand the reach and efficacy of traditional contact tracing methods in fighting COVID-19. The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports initiated and developed CoronaMelder, a COVID-19 contact tracing app. This app is based on a Google/Apple Exposure Notification approach and aims to combat the spread of the coronavirus among individuals by notifying those who are at increased risk of infection due to proximity to someone who later tests positive for COVID-19. The app should support traditional contact tracing by faster tracing and greater reach compared to regular contact tracing procedures. Objective The main goal of this study is to investigate whether the CoronaMelder is able to support traditional contact tracing employed by public health authorities. To achieve this, usability tests were conducted to answer the following question: is the CoronaMelder user-friendly, understandable, reliable and credible, and inclusive? Methods Participants (N=44) of different backgrounds were recruited: youth with varying educational levels, youth with an intellectual disability, migrants, adults (aged 40-64 years), and older adults (aged >65 years) via convenience sampling in the region of Twente in the Netherlands. The app was evaluated with scenario-based, think-aloud usability tests and additional interviews. Findings were recorded via voice recordings, observation notes, and the Dutch User Experience Questionnaire, and some participants wore eye trackers to measure gaze behavior. Results Our results showed that the app is easy to use, although problems occurred with understandability and accessibility. Older adults and youth with a lower education level did not understand why or under what circumstances they would receive notifications, why they must share their key (ie, their assigned identifier), and what happens after sharing. In particular, youth in the lower-education category did not trust or understand Bluetooth signals, or comprehend timing and follow-up activities after a risk exposure notification. Older adults had difficulties multitasking (speaking with a public health worker and simultaneously sharing the key in the app). Public health authorities appeared to be unprepared to receive support from the app during traditional contact tracing because their telephone conversation protocol lacks guidance, explanation, and empathy. Conclusions The study indicated that the CoronaMelder app is easy to use, but participants experienced misunderstandings about its functioning. The perceived lack of clarity led to misconceptions about the app, mostly regarding its usefulness and privacy-preserving mechanisms. Tailored and targeted communication through, for example, public campaigns or social media, is necessary to provide correct information about the app to residents in the Netherlands. Additionally, the app should be presented as part of the national coronavirus measures instead of as a stand-alone app offered to the public. Public health workers should be trained to effectively and empathetically instruct users on how to use the CoronaMelder app.

scholarly journals Clustering and superspreading potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in Hong Kong

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dillon Adam ◽  
Peng Wu ◽  
Jessica Wong ◽  
Eric Lau ◽  
Tim Tsang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Local Transmission ◽  
Terminal Cluster

Abstract Superspreading events have characterised previous epidemics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections. Using contact tracing data, we identified and characterized SARS-CoV-2 clusters in Hong Kong. Given a superspreading threshold of 6-8 secondary cases, we identified 5-7 probable superspreading events and evidence of substantial overdispersion in transmissibility, and estimated that 20% of cases were responsible for 80% of local transmission. Among terminal cluster cases, 27% (45/167) ended in quarantine. Social exposures produced a greater number of secondary cases compared to family or work exposures (p<0.001) while delays between symptom onset and isolation did not reliably predict the number of individual secondary cases or resulting cluster sizes. Public health authorities should focus on rapid tracing and quarantine of contacts, along with physical distancing to prevent superspreading events in high-risk social environments.

scholarly journals On the Futility of Contact Tracing

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Bhattacharya ◽  
Mikko Packalen
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities

Throughout the COVID-19 epidemic, public health authorities have promoted contact tracing as a key tool to combat the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Jay Bhattacharya and Mikko Packalen argue that contact tracing does not deserve the central place it has received in the tool kit public health authorities use to control the virus, and that, in some cases, it may make an outbreak worse.

A Brief Forewarning Intervention Overcomes Negative Effects of Salient Changes in COVID-19 Guidance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy David Gretton ◽  
Ethan Andrew Meyers ◽  
Alexander C. Walker ◽  
Jonathan Albert Fugelsang ◽  
Derek J. Koehler
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Behavior ◽  
Scientific Understanding ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Health Messaging

During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health messaging, including guidance regarding protective health behavior (e.g., use of non-medical masks), changed over time. Although many revisions were a result of gains in scientific understanding, we nonetheless hypothesized that making changes in guidance salient would negatively impact evaluations of experts and health-protective intentions. In Study 1 (N = 300), we demonstrate that describing COVID-19 guidance in terms of inconsistency (versus consistency) leads people to perceive scientists and public health authorities less favorably (e.g., as less expert). Among a Canadian subsample, making guidance change salient also reduced intentions to download the COVID Alert contact tracing app. In Study 2 (N = 1399), we show that a brief forewarning intervention mitigates detrimental effects of changes in guidance. In the absence of forewarning, emphasizing inconsistency harmed judgments of public health authorities and reduced health-protective intentions, but forewarning eliminated this effect.

scholarly journals An Appraisal of Communication Practices Demonstrated by Romanian District Public Health Authorities at the Outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2500
Author(s):  
Mariana Cernicova-Buca ◽  
Adina Palea
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities

Communication during an ongoing crisis is a challenging task that becomes even more demanding during a public health crisis. Early in the start of the pandemic, global leaders called upon the public to reject infodemics and access official sources. This article focuses on the communicative aspects of health services management, with a particular focus on the communication strategy of the Romanian district public health authorities during the COVID-19 lockdown, as seen on official websites and social networks. The 15 most affected districts were selected, according to the officially reported health cases. The issued press releases and the posts on Facebook pages show an uneven experience on the part of district authorities in dealing with public information campaigns. In addition, the results of the study indicate a lack of sustainable communication approaches as well as the need of professional training and strategy in dealing with the public health crisis. From a communication point of view, a strategic approach on behalf of the public health sector is crucial to enhance the preparedness of appropriate institutions to act during emergencies and to respond to the needs of the media and the public with timely, correct, and meaningful information.

scholarly journals Retarded Logistic Equation as a Universal Dynamic Model for the Spread of COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Shayak ◽  
Mohit M Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Dynamic Model ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Logistic Equation ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
City District ◽  
Public Health Authorities

ABSTRACTIn this work we propose the retarded logistic equation as a dynamic model for the spread of COVID-19 all over the world. This equation accounts for asymptomatic transmission, pre-symptomatic or latent transmission as well as contact tracing and isolation, and leads to a transparent definition of the instantaneous reproduction number R. For different parameter values, the model equation admits different classes of solutions. These solution classes correspond to, inter alia, containment of the outbreak via public health measures, exponential growth despite public health measures, containment despite reopening and second wave following reopening. We believe that the spread of COVID in every localized area such as a city, district or county can be accounted for by one of our solution classes. In regions where R > 1 initially despite aggressive epidemic management efforts, we find that if the mitigation measures are sustained, then it is still possible for R to dip below unity when far less than the region’s entire population is affected, and from that point onwards the outbreak can be driven to extinction in time. We call this phenomenon partial herd immunity. Our analysis indicates that COVID-19 is an extremely vicious and unpredictable disease which poses unique challenges for public health authorities, on account of which “case races” among various countries and states do not serve any purpose and present delusive appearances while ignoring significant determinants.

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