To use or not to use a COVID-19 contact tracing app: a mixed-methods study in Wales (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerina Jones ◽  
Rachel Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Digital Inclusion ◽  
The Public ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Open Question

BACKGROUND Background Many countries remain in the grip of the COVID-19 global pandemic with a considerable journey still ahead to emerge into a semblance of normality and freedom. Contact tracing smartphone apps are among a raft of measures introduced to reduce spread of the virus. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to ascertain the views of citizens in Wales on their intended use of a contact tracing app, with self-proposed reasons for or against, and what could lead to a change of decision. METHODS We distributed an anonymous survey among 4,000 HealthWise Wales participants in May 2020. We took a mixed methods approach: responses to closed questions were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics; open question responses were analysed and grouped into categories. RESULTS A total of 976 (24.4%) people completed the survey. Smartphone usage was 91.5% overall, but this varied between age groups. 97.1% were aware of contact tracing apps, but only 67.2% felt sufficiently informed. 55.7% intended to use an app, 23.3% said no, and 21.0% were unsure. The top reasons for app use were: controlling spread of the virus, mitigating risks for others and self, and increasing freedoms. The top reasons against were: mistrusting the government, concerns about data security and privacy, and doubts about efficacy. The top response for changing their mind about app use from willing to unwilling was that nothing would. This was also the case for unwilling to willing. Among the unsure, it was the need for more information. CONCLUSIONS Respondents demonstrated a keenness to help themselves, others, society and government to avoid the virus and to control its spread. However, digital inclusion varied among age groups, precluding participation for some people. Considering the nature of the concerns raised, and the perceived lack of information, policy and decision-makers need to do more to act openly, increase communications and demonstrate trustworthiness if members of the public are to be confident in using an app.

scholarly journals COVID-19: An Updated Situation from Singapore

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke-Yan Loo ◽  
Angel Yun-Kuan Thye ◽  
Lydia Ngiik-Shiew Law ◽  
Jodi Woan Fei Law
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
The Public ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Since the first reports of COVID-19 in 2019, the viral respiratory disease has spread across nations, sending the world into a global pandemic. The pandemic has heavily impacted the public health of the global community. Over 237 million confirmed cases have been reported, and more than 4.8 million lives have been lost due to the novel coronavirus. In Singapore, the government quickly took action in the early stages of the pandemic to limit the spread of the virus to protect the local communities from the disease. Singapore has been able to keep their confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths at low numbers by implementing movement restrictions, raising public awareness, mask mandates, social distancing, providing free vaccinations for the public, and utilizing advancements in technology for contact tracing. The public has also upheld their social responsibility in cooperating with the Singaporean government to control the disease spread. COVID-19 is now moving into an endemic phase in Singapore as the vaccination rates are at an all-time high resulting in lower death rates, and the confirmed cases are primarily mild to asymptomatic. Singapore has set a precedent for how pandemics can be handled in the future to minimize mortality rates and protect public health.

DILEMA PENANGANAN COVID-19: ANTARA LEGITIMASI PEMERINTAH DAN KEPATUHAN MASYARAKAT

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Laode Ode Harjudin
Keyword(s):  
Public Confidence ◽  
The Public ◽  
Crisis Situation ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Political Foundation

AbstrakPersoalan utama dalam upaya penanganan wabah Covid-19 adalah pemerintah kesulitan memperoleh kepatuhan masyarakat untuk mentaati kebijakannya sesuai protokol kesehatan. Berbagai kebijakan ataupun himbauan pemerintah tentang protokol kesehatan terkesan diabaikan atau tidak dipatuhi masyarakat. Studi ini menggunakan konsep legitimasi untuk memahami  ketidakpatuhan masyarakat dalam upaya penanganan wabah Covid-19. Metode yang digunakan dalam studi ini adalah penelurusan kepustakaan dan dokumentasi. Hasil studi menunjukkan bawha dalam penanganan Covid-19 pemerintah mengalami krisis legitimasi, sehingga pememerintah mendapatkan tentangan (resistensi), dan kepercayaan masyarakat terhadap hukum, peraturan dan keputusannya akan meluap. Hal terjadi karena pencintraan politik berlebihan yang hanya melahirkan demokrasi semu tanpa fondasi politik yang kuat. Pemerintah seperti ini sulit mengharapkan kepatuhan masyarakat dalam situasi krisis. Kata Kunci: pandemi global, krisis legitimasi, politik pencitraan Abstract The main problem in the efforts to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak was that the government had difficulty obtaining community compliance to comply with its policies according to health protocols. Various policies or government appeals on health protocols appear to be ignored or not obeyed by the public. This study uses the concept of legitimacy to understand community non-compliance in efforts to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak. The method used in this study is searching literature and documentation. The results of the study showed that in handling Covid-19 the government experienced a crisis of legitimacy, so that the government received opposition (resistance), and public confidence in the laws, regulations and decisions would overflow. This happened because of excessive political intelligence which only gave birth to pseudo democracy without a strong political foundation. Such a government is difficult to expect community compliance in a crisis situation. Keywords: global pandemic, crisis of legitimacy, imaging politics

scholarly journals Mobile Government Applications Based on Security and Privacy: A Literature Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4.1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Ala'a Saeb Al-Sherideh ◽  
Roesnita Ismail ◽  
Fauziah Abdul Wahid ◽  
Norasikin Fabil ◽  
Waidah Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Security Requirements ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Privacy And Security ◽  
The Public ◽  
Privacy Requirements ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
The Government

Mobile applications available in anytime and from anywhere. The utilizing of mobile governmental applications is significant to reduce the efforts and time that are required to accomplish the public services by citizens. The main challenges that face the acceptance and adoption of mobile governmental applications are the privacy and security issues. The users, who do not trust the security of mobile governmental applications, may reject the use of these applications which discourages the government to adopt the mobile services. This study focuses in investigating the security and privacy requirements of mobile government applications. Many related works are reviewed and discussed to understand the important security requirements of mobile government applications. The main results indicate that effective privacy and security of mobile government applications should be assured so as to enhance the level of adopting and using these applications. The security requirements involve many considerations such as the hardware characteristics, software characteristics, and communication characteristics. This article mainly gives better understanding of security requirements of mobile government applications.   

scholarly journals Peran komunikasi publik dalam menanggapi gelombang disinformasi Covid-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-175
Author(s):  
Dody Setyawan ◽  
Dekki Umamur Ra'is ◽  
Abd. Rohman
Keyword(s):  
Public Information ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communication Campaign ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Government ◽  
Object Of Study

Disinformation has reduced public confidence in the government and scientists in handling Covid-19. These conditions hamper the overall handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the context of responding to a global pandemic, disinformation greatly affects the country's response to a global pandemic by undermining trust, creating fear, and sometimes leading to harmful behavior. It is important for policy makers to understand disinformation and how to respond to it. This study uses a literature review approach with data sources coming from several documents that have been verified and have a relationship with the object of study. The stages of the study start from choosing a review topic, finding and selecting appropriate articles, analyzing and synthesizing the literature, and finally presenting a review of the study. the results show that the government should have official information channels with verified, transparent, sustainable and fast sources of information. The government must also provide clear and definite information through official channels and trusted media. The government must also ensure the consistency of information. In addition, the government must maintain a transparent pattern of communication about the situation, actions and risks it takes. The aim is to restore public trust in public institutions, in information that has been conveyed by the government to the public as well as guidelines that have been provided by the government to the public, such as health protocol guidelines and the last is "Pre-bunk", or be aware of the potential for disinformation before occurred, as part of a public information and communication campaign. 

scholarly journals IMPLEMENTASI PROGRAM PENANGANAN KORBAN KEKERASAN SEKSUAL PADA ANAK LAKI-LAKI DI KABUPATEN KARAWANG TAHUN 2017-2019

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Nindi Nurfahmi Setyani ◽  
Maulana Rifai ◽  
Prilla Marsingga
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Service Center ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Administration ◽  
Violence Against Children ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
The Government ◽  
Descriptive Method ◽  
Integrated Service

The level of sexual violence against children is increasing every year, both for girls and for boys. Victims who have experienced sexual violence certainly need serious handling so that other problems do not occur in the future. One of the functions of the government is to provide services to the community and to empower people to participate in government administration. One form of service is by providing an Integrated Service Center for the Empowerment of Women and Children (P2TP2A) in each region. The Integrated Service Center for the Empowerment of Women and Children (P2TP2A) has the task of preventing, completing and recovering victims of acts of violence. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether the implementation of the P2TP2A handling program in Karawang Regency has been running optimally or not. This study uses a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. The data collection techniques used in this study were interviews, observation, documentation, and triangulation. The result of this research is that the handling of boys sexual violence victims has not run optimally, this is due to the lack of information delivery and socialization to the public regarding the existence of this program. In addition, the response from the community regarding the need for handling victims of sexual violence against boys in Karawang Regency is still low. Keywords: Implementation, Integrated Service Center for Women and Children Empowerment, Handling Victims of Sexual Violence in Boys, Karawang Regency.

scholarly journals Public attitudes towards COVID-19 contact tracing apps: a UK-based focus group study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Nicholas ◽  
Chris Armitage ◽  
Tova Tampe ◽  
Kimberly Dienes
Keyword(s):  
Text Messaging ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Focus Group Study ◽  
The Public ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Greater Good ◽  
The Uk

OBJECTIVE: To explore public attitudes to the proposed COVID-19 contact tracing app in the United Kingdom.DESIGN: Qualitative study consisting of five focus groups carried out between 1st-4th May, 2020 (39-42 days after the official start of the UK lockdown). SETTING: Online video-conferencingPARTICIPANTS: 22 participants, all UK residents aged 18 years and older, representing a range of different genders, ages, ethnicities and locations.RESULTS: Participants were split roughly equally in number across three groups: will use the app; will not be using the app; and undecided as to whether they will use the app. Analysis revealed five main themes: (1) Lack of information and misconceptions surrounding COVID-19 contact tracing apps; (2) concerns over privacy; (3) concerns over stigma; (4) concerns over uptake; and (5) contact tracing as the ‘greater good’. These themes were found across the sample and the three groups. However, concerns over privacy, uptake and stigma were particularly significant amongst those state they will not be using the app and the view that the app is for the “greater good” was particularly significant amongst those who stated they will be using the app. One of the most common misconceptions about the app was that it could allow users to specifically identify and map COVID-19 cases amongst their contacts and in their vicinity.CONCLUSIONS: We offer four recommendations: (1) To offset the fact that many people may not be accessing, or might be avoiding, news coverage on COVID-19, authorities must communicate to the public via a range of methods including but not limited to: social media ads, postal information, text messaging and other emergency alert systems. (2) Communications should emphasise that the app cannot enable the user to identify which of their contacts has reported COVID-19 symptoms or tested positive. (3) Communication should emphasise collective responsibility (‘the greater good’) to promote social norms around use of the app (4) Communication should provide a slogan that maximises clarity of message, for example: ‘Download the app, protect the NHS, save lives’.

scholarly journals COVID-19 in South Korea: Focusing on Club Infections

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 2299-2302
Author(s):  
Moon-Jung Shim ◽  
Yun-Jung Kang
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Male Patient ◽  
Early Identification ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Asymptomatic Infection ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The Public ◽  
Korean Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
Local Transmission

On January 20, 2020, the first COVID-19 case in Korea was confirmed. The Korean government handled the situation by early identification and quarantine along with transparent disclosure of information, while announcing a National Guideline to practice aggressive prevention policies. Consequently, the government changed its social distancing policy into a casual-distancing-in-daily-lives policy. However, on the very day when the new policy started, a new male patient who had visited a club in Itaewon, Seoul, was confirmed to be the start of a club infection. This incident gave rise to three possible problems for Korea. Firstly, asymptomatic infection, which means a patient can spread the virus having only slight or no symptoms at all, can increase. Secondly, the fourth infection occurred due to local transmission by confirmed cases related to the club infection. Thirdly, the change in awareness among the 20s and 30s age groups is required to minimize the COVID-19 situation. As there is no established cure for COVID-19, both the government and the public should exert care.

scholarly journals Defusing COVID-19: Lessons Learned from a Century of Pandemics

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 182
Author(s):  
Graciela Mujica ◽  
Zane Sternberg ◽  
Jamie Solis ◽  
Taylor Wand ◽  
Peter Carrasco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Groups ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Influenza Pandemics ◽  
Mass Gatherings ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Health Response

Amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic of 2020, identifying and applying lessons learned from previous influenza and coronavirus pandemics may offer important insight into its interruption. Herein, we conducted a review of the literature of the influenza pandemics of the 20th century; and of the coronavirus and influenza pandemics of the 21st century. Influenza and coronavirus pandemics are zoonoses that spread rapidly in consistent seasonal patterns during an initial wave of infection and subsequent waves of spread. For all of their differences in the state of available medical technologies, global population changes, and social and geopolitical factors surrounding each pandemic, there are remarkable similarities among them. While vaccination of high-risk groups is advocated as an instrumental mode of interrupting pandemics, non-pharmacological interventions including avoidance of mass gatherings, school closings, case isolation, contact tracing, and the implementation of infection prevention strategies in healthcare settings represent the cornerstone to halting transmission. In conjunction with lessons learned from previous pandemics, the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes the basis for delineating best practices to confront future pandemics.

scholarly journals NEEDS FOR INTERSECTORAL PARTNERSHIP OF COMMUNITIES IN THE REGION

2021 ◽  
pp. 57-65
Author(s):  
Matovka T.
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Intersectoral Cooperation ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Common Goals ◽  
Business Structures ◽  
The Government

The main aim of the article is to analyze the needs for intersectoral cooperation in the region. Namely, the article tackles the problem of cooperation between local governments, business structures and the public sector (public organizations). Separately, each sector is usually active in its own area, but cooperation can make them into an effective tool in regional development. In the Transcarpathian region and in Ukraine in general, this type of partnership is new. Consiquently, it is still difficult to realize intersectoral partnership in the region, since imperfect legislation, fear of the unfamiliar and simple lack of information about its effectiveness create numerous barriers for its implementation. Today, the lack of budget fund-ing in communities leads to the need for such cooperation as intersectoral partnership, as it can mobilize more resources, facilitate experience exchange, thereby expanding workers' knowledge beyond the spheres of their organizations, and so on. One of the important factors of our research was an assessment of a social survey of intersectoral partnership entities (a total of 60 respondents from the government, private and public sectors), which was aimed at identifying the main reasons and benefits that motivate such cooperation, as well as identifying the resources that participants are willing to invest to achieve common goals. It was quite important to discover what is the most important factors of such cooperations for partners. Intersectoral partnerships are usually organized to address social issues, so determining its value for each individual partner is quite difficult. The article concludes with an overview of the benefits of intersectoral partnerships and communities problems which it can solve, namely the involvement of business and community organizations can help local governments to overcome the budget crisis by investing in external financial resources for development projects; combining the experience of each of the partners to find solutions to certain problems; higher degree of transparency in decision­mak-ing by public administration bodies; the opportunity to strengthen innovation processes and acquire skills outside the orga-nizational base of individual institutions.Keywords: intersectoral cooperation, partnership, local governments, public organizations, business structures. Основною метою статті є аналізування потреб у міжсекторному співробітництві в регіоні. Тобто йдеться про співпрацю органів місцевого самоврядування, бізнес­структур та громадського сектору (громадських організацій). Окремо кожний із секторів зазвичай активний у власній сфері діяльності, але, співпрацюючи в партнерстві, вони виступають досить дієвим інструментом у регіональному розвитку. Сьогодні нестача бюджетного фінансування у громадах призводить до необхідності розгляду такої співпраці, як міжсекторне партнерство, оскільки завдяки йому можна мобілізувати більший обсяг ресурсів, здійснювати обмін досвідом, тим самим розширювати свої знання за межі своїх організацій тощо. Важливим у дослідженні було те, що ми включили оцінку соціального опитування суб’єктів міжсекторного партнерства в Закарпатській області, яке було спрямоване на з'ясування основних причин і вигід, що спонукають до такої співпраці, а також виявлення ресурсів, які готові вкладати суб’єкти для досягнення поставлених спільних цілей. Досить суттєвим було дізнатися, що найбільш важливим убачають у такій співпраці партнери. Ключові слова: міжсекторне співробітництво, партнерство, органи місцевого самоврядування, громадські організації, бізнесові структури.

scholarly journals Accounting for “the social” in contact tracing applications: The paradox between public health governance and mistrust of government's data use

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 205395172110542
Author(s):  
Yao-Tai Li
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Data Privacy ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Asymmetrical Power ◽  
Data Surveillance ◽  
The Government ◽  
Public Health Governance

This essay adopts three accounts (sociological, neoliberal, and cybernetic) of “the social” to get a clearer picture of why there is a barrier faced by the government when implementing contact tracing mobile applications. In Hong Kong's context, the paradox involves declining trust of the government's protection of data privacy and growing concern about data surveillance since the 2019 social unrest I argue that exploring the idea of sociality is valuable in that it re-reconfigures the datafication of pandemic control by revealing different sets of social relations, particularly the asymmetrical power relation between the government and its people. The refusal to download or use the mobile app also shows that the public has a faith in human agency and human resistance in data-saturated cities.

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