Continued Use of Contact-Tracing Apps in the United States and the United Kingdom: Insights From a Comparative Study Through the Lens of the Health Belief Model

Abstract

Background To contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2, contact-tracing (CT) mobile apps were developed and deployed to identify and notify individuals who have exposure to the virus. However, the effectiveness of these apps depends not only on their adoption by the general population but also on their continued use in the long term. Limited research has investigated the facilitators of and barriers to the continued use of CT apps. Objective In this study, we aimed to examine factors influencing the continued use intentions of CT apps based on the health belief model. In addition, we investigated the differences between users and nonusers and between the US and UK populations. Methods We administered a survey in the United States and the United Kingdom. Respondents included individuals who had previously used CT technologies and those without experience. We used the structural equation modeling technique to validate the proposed research model and hypotheses. Results Analysis of data collected from 362 individuals showed that perceived benefits, self-efficacy, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, and cues to action positively predicted the continued use intentions of CT apps, while perceived barriers could reduce them. We observed few differences between the US and UK groups; the only exception was the effect of COVID-19 threat susceptibility, which was significant for the UK group but not for the US group. Finally, we found that the only significant difference between users and nonusers was related to perceived barriers, which may not influence nonusers’ continued use intentions but significantly reduce experienced users’ intentions. Conclusions Our findings have implications for technological design and policy. These insights can potentially help governments, technology companies, and media outlets to create strategies and policies to promote app adoption for new users and sustain continued use for existing users in the long run.