Can digital health support COVID-19 contact tracing? A scoping review (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted every country globally, infecting almost 7 million people. The respiratory disease is spread through oral and nasal droplets and fomites (surface contact). Preventative measures to slow the transmission includes social distancing, wearing masks, and hygiene practices. Contact tracing has been identified as an essential preventative measure in the management of COVID-19. Digital health solutions are being used in the management and prevention of COVID-19. OBJECTIVE The aim of the scoping review is to: (1) identify the types of digital health solutions used for COVID-19 contact tracing (2) assessing the impact of the solution and (3) determining the research and innovation gaps. METHODS This review utilized scoping review methodologies to effectively, efficiently, and rapidly gather evidence related to COVID-19, contact tracing and digital health. The framework to evaluate the evidence consisted of five stages. A search strategy was developed, and relevant articles was retrieved from PubMed, EBSCO and Web of Science. Articles was screened for eligibility using the research question as a guide. RESULTS A total of 33 was found from the various databases, 16 duplicates was removed. The title and abstract of 17 articles was screened, 3 articles was removed. The full-text articles were screened, and 9 articles was excluded as they did not include any data as they were presented in the form of editorials, commentary or viewpoints. The results highlighted the use of digital technology to aid in contact tracing. The primary focus of the applications was finding the geographical location of the contacts. CONCLUSIONS Although the COVID-19 pandemic is a recent ongoing event, the limited articles published provides key information to strengthen future digital health contact tracing initiatives. The readiness checklist could assist with the current and future contact tracing initiatives.