Survey on usage and concerns of a COVID-19 contact tracing application in Japan

Abstract

Objectives We aimed to identify the concerns, current implementation status and correct usage, and factors inhibiting implementation and correct use of a COVID-19 contact tracing application among the ordinary citizens in Japan. Study design This was a cross-sectional study based on an internet survey completed by 2013 participants who were selected among registrants of an Internet research company between September 8 and 13, 2020. Methods Participants completed an online survey that included thoughts and concerns about the application, status of use, and questions about whether the application was being used correctly. We performed multiple logistic regression analysis to clarify the association between the use of the app and sociodemographic factors and user concerns. Results Of the 2013 respondents, 429 (21.3%) participants reported using this application, but only 60.8% of them used it correctly. The percentage of those having some concerns about the application ranged from 45.9% to 75.5%, with the highest percentage being ‘doubts about effectiveness of apps for preventing spread of infection’. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed, the main concerns inhibiting application use were insufficient knowledge of how to use it, privacy concerns, doubts about the effectiveness of the app, and concerns about battery consumption and communication costs. Additionally, the prevalence of the application was lower for lower-income individuals. Conclusions The findings suggest that income may create inequalities in the efficacy and effectiveness of COVID-19 contact tracing applications. Awareness activity strategies to dispel such concerns and support low-income individuals may be needed.

Measuring the Success of PeduliLindungi Application Use for Supporting COVID-19 Prevention: A Case Study among College Students in Jakarta, Indonesia

“…25 This figure is greater than the COVID-19 contact-tracing apps in Japan (21.3%) but lower than the NHS COVID-19 mobile apps in the United Kingdom (84.1%). 26,27 According to study in Germany, offering incentives improved the adoption of a COVID-19 contact-tracing apps. 28 This study showed that most respondents used the PL 25 One of influential factors on the frequency of the apps by respondents while visiting public facilities is strict monitoring by officers on duty.…”

Ibaraki’s Amabie-chan usage and its association with infection prevention behavior and fear of COVID-19: a cross-sectional preliminary survey of the Tsukuba Salutogenic Occupational Cohort Study

“…For an alert system like COCOA to work, a fairly high percentage of people need to actively use it. COCOA did not work as expected due to a limited number of active users [ 3 , 4 ]. The same is true for Ibaraki’s Amabie-chan.…”

Tracing app technology: an ethical review in the COVID-19 era and directions for post-COVID-19

“…In the early months of 2020, COVID-19 started spreading around the world, and a pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 (Chen et al, 2021 ; Machida et al, 2021 ; Miller & Smith, 2021 ; SCASSA, 2021 ). To track the spread of the virus, technologies, including wearable physiological sensors (Natarajan et al, 2020 ) and digital contact tracing apps (CTA), were leveraged by different groups in more than 100 countries (Gupta et al, 2021 ; Machida et al, 2021 ; Mbwogge, 2021 ; Thomas, 2021 ). CTA refers to the technology of identifying, assessing, and managing persons who may have come into contact with an infected person to control the spread of the virus by these potential virus carriers (Hoffman et al, 2020 ).…”