scholarly journals Implementing a digital system for contact tracing and case investigation during COVID-19 pandemic in San Francisco: a qualitative study

JAMIA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hailey Burgess ◽  
Luis Gutierrez-Mock ◽  
Y Xian Ho ◽  
Michelle Moghadassi ◽  
Neal Lesh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Digital System ◽  
Digital Systems ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Culturally Sensitive Care ◽  
Case Investigation ◽  
Share Data

Lay summary During the COVID-19 pandemic, many health departments implemented digital systems to collect, store, and share data for case investigation and contact tracing (CICT). In San Francisco, much of the contact tracing workforce was entirely remote and had little to no public health experience. Given this unique situation, we wanted to understand their experience with the digital system to inform future implementation of digital systems for public health responses. This case study describes how CICT workers in San Francisco experienced and used the digital system and how it could be improved. We conducted semi-structured 90-minute interviews and a short survey with a sample of 37 CICT workers, and found that, overall, the digital system was easy to learn and improved workers’ experience of data management during the pandemic. The digital system was also important in fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment. We found that the system could be improved to better support culturally sensitive care and highlight the importance of digital systems in ensuring equitable public health responses.

scholarly journals California's COVID-19 Virtual Training Academy: Rapid Scale-Up of a Statewide Contact Tracing and Case Investigation Workforce Training Program

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie B. Brickley ◽  
Maeve Forster ◽  
Amelia Alonis ◽  
Elizabeth Antonyan ◽  
Lisa Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Training Program ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Infectious Period ◽  
Training Experience ◽  
Case Investigation

Case investigation (CI) and contact tracing (CT) are key to containing the COVID-19 pandemic. Widespread community transmission necessitates a large, diverse workforce with specialized knowledge and skills. The University of California, San Francisco and Los Angeles partnered with the California Department of Public Health to rapidly mobilize and train a CI/CT workforce. In April through August 2020, a team of public health practitioners and health educators constructed a training program to enable learners from diverse backgrounds to quickly acquire the competencies necessary to function effectively as CIs and CTs. Between April 27 and May 5, the team undertook a curriculum design sprint by performing a needs assessment, determining relevant goals and objectives, and developing content. The initial four-day curriculum consisted of 13 hours of synchronous live web meetings and 7 hours of asynchronous, self-directed study. Educational content emphasized the principles of COVID-19 exposure, infectious period, isolation and quarantine guidelines and the importance of prevention and control interventions. A priority was equipping learners with skills in rapport building and health coaching through facilitated web-based small group skill development sessions. The training was piloted among 31 learners and subsequently expanded to an average weekly audience of 520 persons statewide starting May 7, reaching 7,499 unique enrollees by August 31. Capacity to scale and sustain the training program was afforded by the UCLA Extension Canvas learning management system. Repeated iteration of content and format was undertaken based on feedback from learners, facilitators, and public health and community-based partners. It is feasible to rapidly train and deploy a large workforce to perform CI and CT. Interactive skills-based training with opportunity for practice and feedback are essential to develop independent, high-performing CIs and CTs. Rigorous evaluation will continue to monitor quality measures to improve the training experience and outcomes.

scholarly journals Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak in a San Francisco Homeless Shelter

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Imbert ◽  
Patrick M Kinley ◽  
Ashley Scarborough ◽  
Caroline Cawley ◽  
Madeline Sankaran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Outbreak Response ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Case Investigation ◽  
Symptom Screening ◽  
Health Response

Abstract We report the public health response to a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in a San Francisco shelter where 67% of residents and 17% of staff tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We describe the limited utility of case investigation, person-based contact tracing and symptom screening, and the benefits of mass testing in outbreak response.

Prioritizing COVID-19 Contact Tracing During a Surge Using Chatbot Technology

2022 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-47
Author(s):  
Brady D. Johnson ◽  
Meg Wall Shui ◽  
Kiana Said ◽  
Alejandro Chavez ◽  
Darpun D. Sachdev
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Telephone Interview ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Vulnerable Communities ◽  
Case Investigation ◽  
Zip Code

When COVID-19 cases surge, identifying ways to improve the efficiency of contact tracing and prioritize vulnerable communities for isolation and quarantine support services is critical. During a fall 2020 COVID-19 resurgence in San Francisco, California, prioritization of telephone-based case investigation by zip code and using a chatbot to screen for case participants who needed isolation support reduced the number of case participants who would have been assigned for a telephone interview by 31.5% and likely contributed to 87.5% of Latinx case participants being successfully interviewed. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(1):43–47. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306563 )

scholarly journals Moving Faster than the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Rapid, Digital Transformation of a Public Health System

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (02) ◽  
pp. 229-236
Author(s):  
Clair Sullivan ◽  
Ides Wong ◽  
Emily Adams ◽  
Magid Fahim ◽  
Jon Fraser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health System ◽  
Public Health System ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Programming Approach ◽  
Data Governance ◽  
Application Development ◽  
Containment Strategy

Abstract Background Queensland, Australia has been successful in containing the COVID-19 pandemic. Underpinning that response has been a highly effective virus containment strategy which relies on identification, isolation, and contact tracing of cases. The dramatic emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic rendered traditional paper-based systems for managing contact tracing no longer fit for purpose. A rapid digital transformation of the public health contact tracing system occurred to support this effort. Objectives The objectives of the digital transformation were to shift legacy systems (paper or standalone electronic systems) to a digitally enabled public health system, where data are centered around the consumer rather than isolated databases. The objective of this paper is to outline this case study and detail the lessons learnt to inform and give confidence to others contemplating digitization of public health systems in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This case study is set in Queensland, Australia. Universal health care is available. A multidisciplinary team was established consisting of clinical informaticians, developers, data strategists, and health information managers. An agile “pair-programming” approach was undertaken to application development and extensive change efforts were made to maximize adoption of the new digital workflows. Data governance and flows were changed to support rapid management of the pandemic. Results The digital coronavirus application (DCOVA) is a web-based application that securely captures information about people required to quarantine and creates a multiagency secure database to support a successful containment strategy. Conclusion Most of the literature surrounding digital transformation allows time for significant consultation, which was simply not possible under crisis conditions. Our observation is that staff was willing to adopt new digital systems because the reason for change (the COVID-19 pandemic) was clearly pressing. This case study highlights just how critical a unified purpose, is to successful, rapid digital transformation.

scholarly journals A Plague of Kinyounism: The Caricatures of Bacteriology in 1900 San Francisco

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 489-514
Author(s):  
Lukas Engelmann
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Disease Diagnosis ◽  
Hospital Service ◽  
Bubonic Plague ◽  
Laboratory Methods ◽  
History Of ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract The arrival of bubonic plague in San Francisco in 1900 has become a pivotal case study in the history of American public health. The presence of plague remained contested for months as the evidence provided by the federal bacteriologist Joseph Kinyoun of the Marine Hospital Service was rejected, his laboratory methods disputed and his person ridiculed. Before the disease diagnosis became widely accepted, Kinyoun had been subjected to public caricature; his expensive and disruptive pragmatics for containing the epidemic were ridiculed as a plague of ‘Kinyounism’. Not only does this history offer insight into the difficult and contradictory ways in which bacteriology became an established science, it also provides an early twentieth-century example of ‘politicised science’. This paper revisits the controversy around Kinyoun and his bacteriological practice through the lens of caricature to sharpen the historical understanding of the shifting and shifty relationships between science, medicine, public health and politics.

scholarly journals Public Health Emergency and Crisis Management: Case Study of SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 3984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hemin Choi ◽  
Wonhyuk Cho ◽  
Min-Hyu Kim ◽  
Joon-Young Hur
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Call Center ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Major Cluster

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused an unparalleled public health crisis, delivering an immense shock to humanity. With the virus’s health consequences largely unknown, different health systems around the globe have pursued various avenues of crisis management. South Korea, troubled early by the virus, was once the second most affected nation in the world. Arrays of measures in South Korea, such as large-scale diagnostic testing and technology-based comprehensive contact tracing, have brought about debates among public health experts and medical professionals. This case study describes the major cluster transmissions in SARS-CoV-2 hotspots in South Korea (such as a religious sect, a call center, logistics facilities, and nightclubs) and offers early observations on how South Korean public health authorities acted in response to the initial outbreak of the virus and to the new waves prompted by re-opening economies. We then discuss the way in which South Korea’s experience can act as a reference for shaping other countries’ public health strategies in pandemic crisis management.

Vietnam’s Containment of COVID-19: Why the Coronavirus Mortality has Been So Low

2021 ◽  
pp. 002073142199296
Author(s):  
Claudio Schuftan
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Late Stage ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Health Messaging

The successful experience of Vietnam, with a population of almost 100 million, in handling the COVID pandemic from March to November 2020 is presented as a case study. It is posited that lessons learned apply to every other country—even at this late stage of the epidemic. Detailed aspects of detection, containment, testing, contact tracing, quarantining, targeted lockdowns, public health messaging, and travel and mobility restriction policies are discussed.

scholarly journals Evaluating the impact of language concordance on COVID-19 contact tracing outcomes among Spanish-speaking adults in San Francisco between June and November 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amity Eliaz ◽  
Alden H Blair ◽  
Yea-Hung Chen ◽  
Alicia Fernandez ◽  
Alexandra Ernst ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Worker ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Support Service ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Primary Language ◽  
Public Health Worker ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Language Concordance ◽  
The Impact

Abstract We evaluated the impact of language concordance—clinician or public health worker fluency in a patient’s primary language—on COVID-19 contact tracing outcomes among 2668 Spanish-speaking adults in San Francisco. Language concordance was associated with 20% greater odds of COVID-19 testing and 53% greater odds of support service referrals.

Designing Better Exposure Notification Apps: The Role of Persuasive Design (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiemute Oyibo ◽  
Plinio Pelegrini Morita
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Motivational Design ◽  
The Government

UNSTRUCTURED Digital contact tracing apps have been deployed worldwide to limit the spread of COVID-19 during this pandemic and to facilitate the lifting of public health restrictions. However, the apps are yet to be widely adopted and require a critical mass of users to be successful. Privacy concerns aside, the minimalist and non-motivational design of the contact tracing apps have been identified as key factors that contribute to low uptake. Using the Government of Canada’s exposure notification app, COVID Alert, as a case study, we demonstrated how incorporating persuasive features in contract tracing apps may improve uptake, usage, reporting diagnosis, and compliance with social distancing guidelines.

scholarly journals Public health emergency and crisis management: Case study of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Choi ◽  
Wonhyuk Cho ◽  
MH Kim ◽  
JY Hur
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Call Center ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Major Cluster

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused an unparalleled public health crisis, delivering an immense shock to humanity. With the virus’s health consequences largely unknown, different health systems around the globe have pursued various avenues of crisis management. South Korea, troubled early by the virus, was once the second most affected nation in the world. Arrays of measures in South Korea, such as large-scale diagnostic testing and technology-based comprehensive contact tracing, have brought about debates among public health experts and medical professionals. This case study describes the major cluster transmissions in SARS-CoV-2 hotspots in South Korea (such as a religious sect, a call center, logistics facilities, and nightclubs) and offers early observations on how South Korean public health authorities acted in response to the initial outbreak of the virus and to the new waves prompted by re-opening economies. We then discuss the way in which South Korea’s experience can act as a reference for shaping other countries’ public health strategies in pandemic crisis management.

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