A National Survey of attitudes to COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p><jats:bold>Background: </jats:bold>Contact tracing remains a critical part of controlling the spread of COVID-19. Many countries have developed novel software applications (Apps) in an effort to augment traditional contact tracing methods.<jats:bold> </jats:bold><jats:bold>Aim: </jats:bold>To conduct a national survey of the Irish population to examine barriers and levers to the use of a contact tracing App.<jats:bold>Methods: </jats:bold>Adult participants were invited to respond via an online survey weblink sent via email and messaging Apps and posted on our university website and on popular social media platforms.<jats:bold> </jats:bold><jats:bold>Results: </jats:bold>A total of 8,088 responses were received, with all 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland represented. 54% of respondents said they would definitely download a contact tracing App, while 30% said they would probably download a contact tracing App. 95% of respondents identified at least one reason for them to download the App, with the most common reasons being the potential for the App to help family members and friends and a sense of responsibility to the wider community. 59% identified at least one reason not to download the App, with the most common reasons being fear that technology companies or the government might use the App technology for greater surveillance after the pandemic.<jats:bold>Conclusion</jats:bold>: Irish citizens surveyed express high levels of willingness to download a public health-backed App to augment contact tracing. Concerns raised regarding privacy and data security will be critical if the App is to achieve the large-scale adoption and ongoing use required for its effective operation.</jats:p>

Behavioural pre-testing of COVID Tracker, Ireland’s contact-tracing app

“…For the vast majority this was due to issues with downloading and installing the trial app. 8 Just 3% of participants who did not download the app said it was because they did not feel comfortable doing so. A further 16 participants did not report issues with downloading the app when initially asked, but later revealed through open text responses that they had failed to download it or encountered technical difficulties.…”

“…This trade-off was also evident in communications from the National Public Health Emergency Team at a time when restrictions were being lifted, which recognised the need to reopen society to make people's lives easier, but emphasised the need to maintain safety. 3 Further, a willingness to protect family and friends has been identified as one of the main reasons people might be in favour of a contact-tracing app [6,8]. Thus, in one condition we framed the app as a crucial component in the process of lifting restrictions, which reduces the chance users will spread the virus to someone vulnerable.…”

“…Adoption of a contact-tracing app is another part of this picture, as its use does not necessarily confer protection to the individual concerned but rather empowers them to protect those around them. Indeed, a sense of responsibility to the community was another primary reason people gave in favour of a contact-tracing app [6,8]. Our second condition framed the app using techniques that have been shown to enhance co-operation in such "collective action problems" -using clear statements that foster a strong group identity, with articulation of how downloading the app is "best for all" [30,31,32].…”

“…A number of studies have addressed people's hypothetical likelihood of downloading a contact-tracing app, and the factors determining this [5,6,7,8,9]. We go beyond this and describe a pre-registered behavioural experiment that pre-tested different versions of an actual government-backed app -"COVID Tracker", Ireland's contact-tracing app.…”

Sentiment Analysis of User Feedback on the HSE Contact Tracing App

“…To that end, this research [4] [5] analysed all app reviews of the HSE app on the AppStore [6] and Google Play [7] using seven different aspects of inter-est: General Characteristics, Usability, Functional Effectiveness, Performance, Data Protection, Autonomy (of users), and Overall (generic comments). This analysis focused on 'positive' and 'negative' sentiment expressed by the user under each of these aspects, in order to build on areas well received, and to target areas where future releases of the app could be re ned.…”