Public opinion of the Irish “COVID Tracker” digital contact tracing App: A national survey

Author:

O’Callaghan Michael E12ORCID,Abbas Manzar3,Buckley Jim34,Fitzgerald Brian3,Johnson Kevin5,Laffey John6,McNicholas Bairbre6,Nuseibeh Bashar3,O’Keeffe Derek6,Beecham Sarah3,Razzaq Abdul3,Rekanar Kaavya3,Richardson Ita34,Simpkin Andrew7,O’Connell James7,Storni Cristiano4,Tsvyatkova Damyanka3,Walsh Jane8,Welsh Thomas3,Glynn Liam G19

Affiliation:

1. School of Medicine, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

2. Irish College of General Practitioners, Dublin, Ireland

3. Lero - The Irish Software Research Centre, Tierney Building, University of Limerick, Ireland

4. Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, University of Limerick, Ireland

5. Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Limerick, Ireland

6. School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), Galway, Ireland

7. School of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland

8. School of Psychology, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland

9. HRB Primary Care Clinical Trials Network Ireland, Ireland

Abstract

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.

Funder

Science Foundation Ireland

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Health Information Management,Computer Science Applications,Health Informatics,Health Policy

Reference43 articles.

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3. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Contact tracing for COVID-19: current evidence, options for scale-up and an assessment of resources needed. Apr 2020. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/COVID-19-Contract-tracing-scale-up.pdf (accessed 17 June 2021).

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5. Google. Exposure notifications: using technology to help public health authorities fight COVID-19. https://www.google.com/covid19/exposurenotifications/ (accessed 18 March 2021).

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