Industry and workplace characteristics associated with the downloading of a COVID-19 contact tracing app in Japan: a nation-wide cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background To combat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many countries have used contact tracing apps, including Japan’s voluntary-use contact-confirming application (COCOA). The current study aimed to identify industry and workplace characteristics associated with the downloading of this COVID-19 contact tracing app. Methods This cross-sectional study of full-time workers used an online survey. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations of industry and workplace characteristics with contact tracing app use. Results Of the 27,036 participants, 25.1% had downloaded the COCOA. Workers in the public service (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14–1.45) and information technology (aOR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.20–1.58) industries were more likely to use the app than were those in the manufacturing industry. In contrast, app usage was less common among workers in the retail and wholesale (aOR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.76–0.99) and food/beverage (aOR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.70–0.94) industries, but further adjustment for company size attenuated these associations. Workers at larger companies were more likely to use the app. Compared with permanent employees, the odds of using the app were higher for managers and civil servants but lower for those who were self-employed. Conclusions Downloading of COCOA among Japanese workers was insufficient; thus, the mitigating effect of COCOA on the COVID-19 pandemic is considered to be limited. One possible reason for the under-implementation of the contact tracing app in the retail and wholesale and food/beverage industries is small company size, as suggested by the fully adjusted model results. An awareness campaign should be conducted to promote the widespread use of the contact tracing app in these industries.

Occupational Factors Associated with Telemedicine Use in the Japanese Working-Age Population: A Web-Based Study Conducted during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…This is consistent with the findings of a Canadian study showing that teleworking promotes the use of telemedicine (Breton et al, 2021). In a previous study from our team, workers in information technology industries were more likely than workers in other industries to use COVID-19 contact tracing apps (Ishimaru et al, 2021). The psychological stress caused by telemedicine may be reduced by experience with telecommunication (i.e., telework), and the use of telemedicine may increase as telework becomes more established.…”

“…In terms of limiting patient factors, belonging to an ethnic minority group, residing in a rural area, low education level, and elderly status have all been cited (Lam et al, 2020;Yang et al, 2021). The key to widespread use of telemedicine, as with other medical services, is the development of communication tools and maturation of people's understanding of the technology (Ishimaru et al, 2021). It is also important to develop a legal framework for providing telemedicine (Kinoshita et al, 2020).…”

Systematic scoping review of the implementation, adoption, use, and effectiveness of digital contact tracing interventions for COVID-19 in the Western Pacific Region

“…The characteristics of the 18 included studies are presented in Table 1 . These were conducted in Australia (n = 5, 5 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ), Fiji (n = 1, 18 ), Japan (n = 4, 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ), New Zealand (n = 3, 23 , 24 , 25 ), and Singapore (n = 5, 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ). Of these five countries, New Zealand was the only country to deploy a QR code location check-in DCT app at initial deployment, with the other four countries initially deploying Bluetooth-based proximity tracing DCT apps.…”

“… Cross-sectional study Dec-20 68,480 people were selected and invited to participate in the survey from 4.65 million registrants of a large survey company in Japan. Online survey 5402 Ishimaru 2021 22 Identify industry and workplace characteristics associated with the downloading of COCOA, the COVID-19 contact tracing app in Japan. Cross-sectional study Dec-20 Participants in an online cohort study on COVID-19 and work.…”

“…Adoption and use measures were reported for 13 of 18 published studies ( Table 3 ). Ten studies reported the proportion of DCT app downloads (adoption) amongst study participants, 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 19 , 21 , 22 , 25 , 26 , 28 six studies reported on active or regular DCT use, 5 , 14 , 20 , 24 , 25 , 29 and one study reported time to adoption of DCT app. 14 Nine studies reported adoption or use outcomes in different study population subgroups.…”