Adherence and Association of Digital Proximity Tracing App Notifications With Earlier Time to Quarantine: Results From the Zurich SARS-CoV-2 Cohort Study.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ballouz T
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8404355 | biostudies-literature | 2021
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Adherence and Association of Digital Proximity Tracing App Notifications With Earlier Time to Quarantine: Results From the Zurich SARS-CoV-2 Cohort Study.
Ballouz Tala T Menges Dominik D Aschmann Hélène E HE Domenghino Anja A Fehr Jan S JS Puhan Milo A MA von Wyl Viktor V
International journal of public health 20210816
<b>Objectives:</b> We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the SwissCovid digital proximity tracing (DPT) app in notifying exposed individuals and prompting them to quarantine earlier compared to individuals notified only by manual contact tracing (MCT). <b>Methods:</b> A population-based sample of cases and close contacts from the Zurich SARS-CoV-2 Cohort was surveyed regarding SwissCovid app use and SARS-CoV-2 exposure. We descriptively analyzed app adherence and effectiveness, and evaluated ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundDigital proximity tracing (DPT) aims to complement manual contact tracing (MCT) in identifying exposed contacts and preventing further transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the population. Although several DPT apps, including SwissCovid, have shown to have promising effects on mitigating the pandemic, several challenges have impeded them from fully achieving the desired results. A key question now relates to how the effectiveness of DPT can be improved, which requires a better understanding of factors influencing its processes.ObjectiveIn this study, we aim to provide a detailed examination of the exposure notification (EN) cascade and to evaluate potential contextual influences for successful receipt of an EN and subsequent actions taken by cases and contacts in different exposure settings.MethodsWe used data from 285 pairs of SARS-CoV-2-infected cases and their contacts within an observational cohort study of cases and contacts identified by MCT and enrolled between August 6, 2020, and January 17, 2021, in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. We surveyed participants with electronic questionnaires. Data were summarized descriptively and stratified by exposure setting.ResultsWe found that only 79 (58.5%) of 135 contacts using the SwissCovid app whose corresponding cases reported to have triggered the EN also received one. Of these, 18 (22.8%) received the EN before MCT. Compared to those receiving an EN after MCT (61/79, 77.2%), we observed that a higher proportion of contacts receiving an EN before MCT were exposed in nonhousehold settings (11/18, 61.1%, vs 34/61, 55.7%) and their corresponding cases had more frequently reported mild-to-moderate symptoms (14/18, 77.8%, vs 42/61, 68.9%). Of the 18 contacts receiving an EN before MCT, 14 (77.8%) took recommended measures: 12 (66.7%) were tested for SARS-CoV-2, and 7 (38.9%) called the SwissCovid Infoline. In nonhousehold settings, the proportion of contacts taking preventive actions after receiving an EN was higher compared to same-household settings (82%, vs 67%). In addition, 1 (9%) of 11 ENs received in the nonhousehold setting before MCT led to the identification of a SARS-CoV-2-infected case by prompting the contact to get tested. This corresponds to 1 in 85 exposures of a contact to a case in a nonhousehold setting, in which both were app users and the case triggered the EN.ConclusionsOur descriptive evaluation of the DPT notification cascade provides further evidence that DPT is an important complementary tool in pandemic mitigation, especially in nonhousehold exposure settings. However, the effect of DPT apps can only be exerted if code generation processes are efficient and exposed contacts are willing to undertake preventive actions. This highlights the need to focus efforts on keeping barriers to efficient code generation as low as possible and promoting not only app adoption but also compliance with the recommended measures upon an EN.Trial registrationInternational Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Registry 14990068; https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN14990068.
| S-EPMC9122110 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundSeveral countries have released digital proximity tracing (DPT) apps to complement manual contact tracing for combatting the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. DPT aims to notify app users about proximity exposures to persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 so that they can self-quarantine. The success of DPT apps depends on user acceptance and the embedding of DPT into the pandemic mitigation strategy.ObjectiveBy searching for media articles published during the first 3 months after DPT launch, the implementation of DPT in Switzerland was evaluated to inform similar undertakings in other countries. The second aim of the study was to create a link between reported DPT implementation challenges and normalization process theory for planning and optimizing complex digital health interventions, which can provide useful guidance for decision-making in DPT design and implementation.MethodsA Swiss media database was searched for articles on the Swiss DPT app (SwissCovid) published in German or French between July 4 and October 3, 2020. In a structured process, topics were extracted and clustered manually from articles that were deemed pertinent. Extracted topics were mapped to four NPT constructs, which reflected the flow of intervention development from planning, stakeholder onboarding, and execution to critical appraisal. Coherence constructs describe sense-making by stakeholders, cognitive participation constructs reflect participants' efforts to create engagement with the intervention, collective actions refer to intervention execution and joint stakeholder efforts to make the intervention work, and reflexive monitoring refers to collective risk-benefit appraisals to create improvements.ResultsOut of 94 articles deemed pertinent and selected for closer inspection, 38 provided unique information on implementation challenges. Five challenge areas were identified: communication challenges, challenges for DPT to interface with other processes, fear of resource competition with established pandemic mitigation measures, unclear DPT effectiveness, and obstacles to greater user coverage and compliance. Specifically, several articles mentioned unclear DPT benefits to affect commitment and to raise fears among different health system actors regarding resource competition. Moreover, media reports indicated process interface challenges such as delays or unclear responsibilities in the notification cascade, as well as misunderstandings and unmet communication needs from health system actors. Finally, reports suggested misaligned incentives, not only for app usage by the public but also for process engagement by other actors in the app notification cascade. NPT provided a well-fitting framework to contextualize the different DPT implementation challenges and to highlight improvement strategies, namely a better alignment of stakeholder incentives, or stakeholder-specific communication to address their concerns about DPT.ConclusionsEarly experiences from one of the first adopters of DPT indicate that nontechnical implementation challenges may affect the effectiveness of DPT. The NPT analysis provides a novel perspective on DPT implementation and stresses the need for stakeholder inclusion in development and operationalization.
| S-EPMC7919847 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Digital contact tracing is a relevant tool to control infectious disease outbreaks, including the COVID-19 epidemic. Early work evaluating digital contact tracing omitted important features and heterogeneities of real-world contact patterns influencing contagion dynamics. We fill this gap with a modeling framework informed by empirical high-resolution contact data to analyze the impact of digital contact tracing in the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate how well contact tracing apps, coupled with the quarantine of identified contacts, can mitigate the spread in real environments. We find that restrictive policies are more effective in containing the epidemic but come at the cost of unnecessary large-scale quarantines. Policy evaluation through their efficiency and cost results in optimized solutions which only consider contacts longer than 15-20 minutes and closer than 2-3 meters to be at risk. Our results show that isolation and tracing can help control re-emerging outbreaks when some conditions are met: (i) a reduction of the reproductive number through masks and physical distance; (ii) a low-delay isolation of infected individuals; (iii) a high compliance. Finally, we observe the inefficacy of a less privacy-preserving tracing involving second order contacts. Our results may inform digital contact tracing efforts currently being implemented across several countries worldwide.
| S-EPMC7955065 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Digital proximity tracing (DPT) for Sars-CoV-2 pandemic mitigation is a complex intervention with the primary goal to notify app users about possible risk exposures to infected persons. DPT not only relies on the technical functioning of the proximity tracing application and its backend server, but also on seamless integration of health system processes such as laboratory testing, communication of results (and their validation), generation of notification codes, manual contact tracing, and management of app-notified users. Policymakers and DPT operators need to know whether their system works as expected in terms of speed or yield (performance) and whether DPT is making an effective contribution to pandemic mitigation (also in comparison to and beyond established mitigation measures, particularly manual contact tracing). Thereby, performance and effectiveness are not to be confused. Not only are there conceptual differences but also diverse data requirements. For example, comparative effectiveness measures may require information generated outside the DPT system, e.g., from manual contact tracing. This article describes differences between performance and effectiveness measures and attempts to develop a terminology and classification system for DPT evaluation. We discuss key aspects for critical assessments of whether the integration of additional data measurements into DPT apps may facilitate understanding of performance and effectiveness of planned and deployed DPT apps. Therefore, the terminology and a classification system may offer some guidance to DPT system operators regarding which measurements to prioritize. DPT developers and operators may also make conscious decisions to integrate measures for epidemic monitoring but should be aware that this introduces a secondary purpose to DPT. Ultimately, the integration of further information (e.g., regarding exact exposure time) into DPT involves a trade-off between data granularity and linkage on the one hand, and privacy on the other. More data may lead to better epidemiological information but may also increase the privacy risks associated with the system, and thus decrease public DPT acceptance. Decision-makers should be aware of the trade-off and take it into account when planning and developing DPT systems or intending to assess the added value of DPT relative to the existing contact tracing systems.
| S-EPMC8521913 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges to governments in terms of contact tracing. Like many other countries, Germany introduced a mobile-phone-based digital contact tracing solution ("Corona Warn App"; CWA) in June 2020. At the time of its release, however, it was hard to assess how effective such a solution would be, and a political and societal debate arose regarding its efficiency, also in light of its high costs. This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of the CWA, considering prevented infections, hospitalizations, intensive care treatments, and deaths. In addition, its efficiency was to be assessed from a monetary point of view, and factors with a significant influence on the effectiveness and efficiency of the CWA were to be determined. Mathematical and statistical modeling was used to calculate infection cases prevented by the CWA, along with the numbers of prevented complications (hospitalizations, intensive care treatments, deaths) using publicly available CWA download numbers and incidences over time. The monetized benefits of these prevented cases were quantified and offset against the costs incurred. Sensitivity analysis was used to identify factors critically influencing these parameters. Between June 2020 and April 2022, the CWA prevented 1.41 million infections, 17,200 hospitalizations, 4600 intensive care treatments, and 7200 deaths. After offsetting costs and benefits, the CWA had a net present value of EUR 765 m in April 2022. Both the effectiveness and efficiency of the CWA are decisively and disproportionately positively influenced by the highest possible adoption rate among the population and a high rate of positive infection test results shared via the CWA.
| S-EPMC9654962 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceDigital contact tracing (DCT) apps have been released in several countries to help interrupt SARS-CoV-2 transmission chains. However, the effect of DCT on pandemic mitigation remains to be demonstrated.ObjectiveTo estimate key populations and performance indicators along the exposure notification cascade of the SwissCovid DCT app in a clearly defined regional and temporal context.Design, setting, and participantsThis comparative effectiveness study was based on a simulation informed by measured data from issued quarantine recommendations and positive SARS-CoV-2 test results after DCT exposure notifications in the canton of Zurich. A stochastic model was developed to re-create the DCT notification cascade for Zurich. Population sizes at each cascade step were estimated using triangulation based on publicly available administrative and observational research data for the study duration from September 1 to October 31, 2020. The resultant estimates were checked for internal consistency and consistency with upstream or downstream estimates in the cascade. Stochastic sampling from data-informed parameter distributions was performed to explore the robustness of results. Subsequently, key performance indicators were evaluated to assess the potential contribution of DCT compared with manual contact tracing.Main outcomes and measuresReceiving a voluntary quarantine recommendation and/or a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result after exposure notification.ResultsIn September 2020, 537 app users received a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result in Zurich, 324 of whom received and entered an upload authorization code. This code triggered an app notification for an estimated 1374 (95% simulation interval [SI], 932-2586) proximity contacts and led to 722 information hotline calls, with an estimated 170 callers (95% SI, 154-186) receiving a quarantine recommendation. An estimated 939 (95% SI, 720-1127) notified app users underwent testing for SARS-CoV-2, of whom 30 (95% SI, 23-36) had positive results after an app notification. Key indicator evaluations revealed that the DCT app triggered quarantine recommendations for the equivalent of 5% of all exposed contacts placed in quarantine by manual contact tracing. For every 10.9 (95% SI, 7.6-15.6) upload authorization codes entered in the app, 1 contact had positive test results for SARS-CoV-2 after app notification. Longitudinal indicator analyses demonstrated bottlenecks in the notification cascade, because capacity limits were reached owing to an increased incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in October 2020.Conclusions and relevanceIn this simulation study of the notification cascade of the SwissCovid DCT app, receipt of exposure notifications was associated with quarantine recommendations and identification of SARS-CoV-2-positive cases. These findings in notified proximity contacts reflect important intermediary steps toward transmission prevention.
| S-EPMC8087953 | biostudies-literature
Project description:To complement labour-intensive conventional contact tracing, digital proximity tracing was implemented widely during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the privacy-centred design of the dominant Google-Apple exposure notification framework has hindered assessment of its effectiveness. Between October 2021 and January 2022, we systematically collected app use and notification receipt data within a test and trace programme targeting around 50,000 university students in Leuven, Belgium. Due to low success rates in each studied step of the digital notification cascade, only 4.3% of exposed contacts (CI: 2.8-6.1%) received such notifications, resulting in 10 times more cases detected through conventional contact tracing. Moreover, the infection risk of digitally traced contacts (5.0%; CI: 3.0-7.7%) was lower than that of conventionally traced non-app users (9.8%; CI: 8.8-10.7%; p = 0.002). Contrary to common perception as near instantaneous, there was a 1.2-day delay (CI: 0.6-2.2) between case PCR result and digital contact notification. These results highlight major limitations of a digital proximity tracing system based on the dominant framework.
| S-EPMC10593825 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveThis study aims to gather public opinion on the Irish "COVID Tracker" digital contact tracing (DCT) App, with particular focus on App usage, usability, usefulness, technological issues encountered, and potential changes to the App.MethodsA 35-item online questionnaire was deployed for 10 days in October 2020, 3 months after the launch of the Irish DCT App.ResultsA total of 2889 completed responses were recorded, with 2553 (88%) respondents currently using the App. Although four in five users felt the App is easy to download, is easy to use and looks professional, 615 users (22%) felt it had slowed down their phone, and 757 (28%) felt it had a negative effect on battery life. Seventy-nine percent of respondents reported the App's main function is to aid contact tracing. Inclusion of national COVID-19 trends is a useful ancillary function according to 87% of respondents, and there was an appetite for more granular local data. Overall, 1265 (44%) respondents believed the App is helping the national effort, while 1089 (38%) were unsure.ConclusionsDCT Apps may potentially augment traditional contact tracing methods. Despite some reports of negative effects on phone performance, just 7% of users who have tried the App have deleted it. Ancillary functionality, such as up-to-date regional COVID-19, may encourage DCT App use. This study describes general positivity toward the Irish COVID Tracker App among users but also highlights the need for transparency on effectiveness of App-enabled contact tracing and for study of non-users to better establish barriers to use.
| S-EPMC8935577 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Digital contact tracing provides an expeditious and comprehensive way to collect and analyze data on people's proximity, location, movement, and health status. However, this technique raises concerns about data privacy and its overall effectiveness. This paper contributes to this debate as it provides a systematic review of digital contact tracing studies between January 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. Following the PRISMA protocol for systematic reviews and the CHEERS statement for quality assessment, 580 papers were initially screened, and 19 papers were included in a qualitative synthesis. We add to the current literature in three ways. First, we evaluate whether digital contact tracing can mitigate COVID-19 by either reducing the effective reproductive number or the infected cases. Second, we study whether digital is more effective than manual contact tracing. Third, we analyze how proximity/location awareness technologies affect data privacy and population participation. We also discuss proximity/location accuracy problems arising when these technologies are applied in different built environments (i.e., home, transport, mall, park). This review provides a strong rationale for using digital contact tracing under specific requirements. Outcomes may inform current digital contact tracing implementation efforts worldwide regarding the potential benefits, technical limitations, and trade-offs between effectiveness and privacy.
| S-EPMC8114870 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundContact tracing apps are considered useful means to monitor SARS-CoV-2 infections during the off-peak stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their effectiveness is, however, dependent on the uptake of such COVID-19 apps.ObjectiveWe examined the role of individuals' general health status in their willingness to use a COVID-19 tracing app as well as the roles of socioeconomic characteristics and COVID-19 proximity.MethodsWe drew data from the WageIndicator Foundation Living and Working in Coronavirus Times survey. The survey collected data on labor market status as well as the potential confounders of the relationship between general health and COVID-19 tracing app usage, such as sociodemographics and regular smartphone usage data. The survey also contained information that allowed us to examine the role of COVID-19 proximity, such as whether an individual has contracted SARS-CoV-2, whether an individual has family members and colleagues with COVID-19, and whether an individual exhibits COVID-19 pandemic-induced depressive and anxiety symptoms. We selected data that were collected in Spain, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands from individuals aged between 18 and 70 years (N=4504). Logistic regressions were used to measure individuals' willingness to use a COVID-19 tracing app.ResultsWe found that the influence that socioeconomic factors have on COVID-19 tracing app usage varied dramatically between the four countries, although individuals experiencing forms of not being employed (ie, recent job loss and inactivity) consistently had a lower willingness to use a contact tracing app (effect size: 24.6%) compared to that of employees (effect size: 33.4%; P<.001). Among the selected COVID-19 proximity indicators, having a close family member with SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with higher contact tracing app usage (effect size: 36.3% vs 27.1%; P<.001). After accounting for these proximity factors and the country-based variations therein, we found that having a poorer general health status was significantly associated with a much higher likelihood of contact tracing app usage; compared to a self-reported "very good" health status (estimated probability of contact tracing app use: 29.6%), the "good" (estimated probability: +4.6%; 95% CI 1.2%-8.1%) and "fair or bad" (estimated probability: +6.3%; 95% CI 2.3%-10.3%) health statuses were associated with a markedly higher willingness to use a COVID-19 tracing app.ConclusionsCurrent public health policies aim to promote the use of smartphone-based contact tracing apps during the off-peak periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. Campaigns that emphasize the health benefits of COVID-19 tracing apps may contribute the most to the uptake of such apps. Public health campaigns that rely on digital platforms would also benefit from seriously considering the country-specific distribution of privacy concerns.
| S-EPMC8382155 | biostudies-literature