scholarly journals To App or Not to App? Understanding Public Resistance to COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing and its Criminological Relevance

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-45
Author(s):  
Anita Lavorgna ◽  
Pamela Ugwudike ◽  
Leslie Carr ◽  
Yadira Sanchez Benitez ◽  
Gopala Sasie Rekha
Keyword(s):  
User Experience ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Health Authorities

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital contact tracing has been developed and promoted in many countries as a valuable tool to help the fight against the virus, allowing health authorities to react quickly and limit contagion. Very often, however, these tracing apps have faced public resistance, making their use relatively sparse and ineffective. Our study relies on an interdisciplinary approach that brings together criminological and computational expertise to consider the key social dynamics underlying people’s resistance to using the NHS contact-tracing app in England and Wales. The present study analyses a large Twitter dataset to investigate interactions between relevant user accounts and identify the main narrative frames (lack of trust and negative liberties) and mechanisms (polluted information, conspiratorial thinking and reactance) to explain resistance towards use of the NHS contact-tracing app. Our study builds on concepts of User eXperience (UX) and algorithm aversion and demonstrates the relevance of these elements to the key criminological problem of resistance to official technologies.

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 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 COVID-19: cross-border contact tracing in Germany, February to April 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Inessa Markus ◽  
Gyde Steffen ◽  
Raskit Lachmann ◽  
Adine Marquis ◽  
Timm Schneider ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
International Health ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Outbreak Response ◽  
Robert Koch Institute ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Cruise Ships ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
International Contact ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Warning Response

Introduction The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) managed the exchange of cross-border contact tracing data between public health authorities (PHA) in Germany and abroad during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Aim We describe the extent of cross-border contact tracing and its challenges. Methods We analysed cross-border COVID-19 contact tracing events from 3 February to 5 April 2020 using information exchanged through the European Early Warning Response System and communication with International Health Regulation national focal points. We described events by PHA, number of contacts and exposure context. Results The RKI processed 467 events, initiating contact to PHA 1,099 times (median = 1; interquartile range (IQR): 1–2) and sharing data on 5,099 contact persons. Of 327 (70%) events with known exposure context, the most commonly reported exposures were aircraft (n = 64; 20%), cruise ships (n = 24; 7%) and non-transport contexts (n = 210; 64%). Cruise ship and aircraft exposures generated more contacts with authorities (median = 10; IQR: 2–16, median = 4; IQR: 2–11) and more contact persons (median = 60; IQR: 9–269, median = 2; IQR: 1–3) than non-transport exposures (median = 1; IQR: 1–6 and median = 1; IQR: 1–2). The median time spent on contact tracing was highest for cruise ships: 5 days (IQR: 3–9). Conclusion In the COVID-19 pandemic, cross-border contact tracing is considered a critical component of the outbreak response. While only a minority of international contact tracing activities were related to exposure events in transport, they contributed substantially to the workload. The numerous communications highlight the need for fast and efficient global outbreak communication channels between PHA.

scholarly journals Measuring the scientific effectiveness of contact tracing: Evidence from a natural experiment

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (33) ◽  
pp. e2100814118
Author(s):  
Thiemo Fetzer ◽  
Thomas Graeber
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Random Breakdown ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Health Authorities

Contact tracing has for decades been a cornerstone of the public health approach to epidemics, including Ebola, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and now COVID-19. It has not yet been possible, however, to causally assess the method’s effectiveness using a randomized controlled trial of the sort familiar throughout other areas of science. This study provides evidence that comes close to that ideal. It exploits a large-scale natural experiment that occurred by accident in England in late September 2020. Because of a coding error involving spreadsheet data used by the health authorities, a total of 15,841 COVID-19 cases (around 20% of all cases) failed to have timely contact tracing. By chance, some areas of England were much more severely affected than others. This study finds that the random breakdown of contact tracing led to more illness and death. Conservative causal estimates imply that, relative to cases that were initially missed by the contact tracing system, cases subject to proper contact tracing were associated with a reduction in subsequent new infections of 63% and a reduction insubsequent COVID-19–related deaths of 66% across the 6 wk following the data glitch.

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 Information system for epidemic control: a computational solution addressing successful experiences and main challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Conceição Rocha ◽  
Henrique Mohallem Paiva ◽  
Davi Gonçalves Sanches ◽  
Daniel Fiks ◽  
Rafael Martins Castro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Technical Solution ◽  
Epidemic Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Contamination Risk ◽  
Health Authorities

PurposeThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused a major impact on worldwide public health and economics. The lessons learned from the successful attempts to contain the pandemic escalation revealed that the wise usage of contact tracing and information systems can widely help the containment work of any contagious disease. In this context, this paper investigates other researches on this domain, as well as the main issues related to the practical implementation of such systems and specifies a technical solution.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed solution is based on the automatic identification of relevant contacts between infected or suspected people with susceptible people; inference of contamination risk based on symptoms history, user navigation records and contact information; real-time georeferenced information of population density of infected or suspect people; and automatic individual social distancing recommendation calculated through the individual contamination risk and the worsening of clinical condition risk.FindingsThe solution was specified, prototyped and evaluated by potential users and health authorities. The proposed solution has the potential of becoming a reference on how to coordinate the efforts of health authorities and the population on epidemic control.Originality/valueThis paper proposed an original information system for epidemic control which was applied for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and could be easily extended to other epidemics.

scholarly journals Antibiotics Used in Covid-19 And Mucormycosis (Black Fungus)

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1641-1648
Author(s):  
Mr. Chintale Deepak Baliram
Keyword(s):  
Homology Modeling ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Viral Evolution ◽  
Unknown Origin ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Case Identification ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Abstract: Background: In late December 2019, Chinese health authorities reported an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Summary: A few days later, the genome of a novel coronavirus was released. org/t/novel2019-coronavirus-genome/319; Wuhan- Hu-1, GenBank accession No. MN908947) and made publicly available to the scientific community. This novel coronavirus was provisionally named 2019-nCoV, now SARS-CoV-2 according to the Coronavirus Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the Coronaviridae family, Betacoronavirus genus, subgenus Sarbecovirus. Since its discovery, the virus has spread globally, causing thousands of deaths and having an enormous impact on our health systems and economies. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about the epidemiology, phylogenesis, homology modeling, and molecular diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2. Phylogenetic analysis is essential to understand viral evolution, whereas homology modeling is important for vaccine strategies and therapies. Highly sensitive and specific diagnostic assays are key to case identification, contact tracing, identification of the animal source, and implementation of control measures. Keywords: COVID-19 · SARS-CoV-2 · Pandemic · Phylogenesis · Protein modeling · Real-time polymerase chain reaction

Digital communication in and beyond organizations: unintended consequences of new freedom

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 304-320
Author(s):  
Elisa Maria Entschew
Keyword(s):  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Digital Communication ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Deep Meaning ◽  
Contemporary Perspective ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
Complex Term

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the following question: In times of permanent connectivity, what forms of freedom need to be considered to prevent permanent availability as an unintended consequence? By using the Hegelian perspective on freedom, the paper categorizes three forms of freedom to transfer them to a common, contemporary understanding of freedom relating it to freedom through human-to-human digital communication. The aim is to show that freedom is not only about independence and realizing choices but also about embedding and committing oneself. Design/methodology/approach This mainly conceptual paper derives implications based on the Hegelian theory. This is supplemented by an interdisciplinary approach, whereby categories of other philosophers, ethicists, economists and sociologists are applied. The analysis of the contemporary perspective on freedom is enriched by referencing empirical studies. Findings Digital communication offers new freedom such as working with fewer restrictions from time and space, especially for knowledge workers. It is theoretically possible to work 24 h per day from anywhere (independence), as well as to decide on the final location and timing of one’s work (realizing choices). When solely focusing on these – seemingly advantageous – forms of freedom in times of permanent connectivity, unintended consequences such as the expectation of permanent availability develop. The key message of the paper is that considering one’s temporal and social dependencies (embeddedness) is an indispensable part of actual freedom to avoid unintended consequences. Practical implications Organizations need to invest in moral discernment to understand unintended consequences, as well as to cope with them. Originality/value Applying the Hegelian theory on freedom based on digital communication to better understand social dynamics of digital communication is a largely unexplored avenue in the existing scientific literature. The decision to undertake this venture resulted from the identified necessity of understanding freedom better. It is often not clear what is meant by freedom through digital communication. Although freedom is a complex construct, it is often reduced to independence/having a choice and realizing choices. When solely focusing on independence and realizing choices, unintended consequences such as permanent availability often go unnoticed. It is exactly because of these issues that this paper endeavors to examine the (deep) meaning of the powerful, yet complex, term of freedom.

A survey of dizziness management in General Practice

2003 ◽  
Vol 117 (8) ◽  
pp. 599-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Jayarajan ◽  
D. Rajenderkumar
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
General Practice ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Postal Survey ◽  
Age Group ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Treatment Methods ◽  
Health Authorities

There is little information in the current literature about the management of dizziness in Primary Care (General Practice). An attempt was made to evaluate this by carrying out a postal survey of General Practitioners’ (GPs) treatment methods in four Health Authorities in England and Wales. The survey revealed that eight out of every 1000 individuals are likely to consult their GP on account of dizziness in a 12-month period. The symptom is mostcommon in the 60–80 years’ age group, with ’labyrinthitis’ being the commonest diagnosis. In the majority of cases (74.9 per cent) there was an improvement in the symptoms and only 13 per cent were referred to a specialist clinic. The survey also highlighted the need for additional resources to improve the management of these patients.

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.

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