The UK COVID-19 contact tracing app as both an emerging technology and public health intervention: The need to consider promissory discourses

Samuel, Gabrielle; Sims, Rosie

doi:10.1177/13634593211060768

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This app was trialled on the Isle of Wight in May-June 2020. The trial was halted in June 2020 and the app was remodeled by NHS Test and Trace and launched in England and Wales in September 2020 [31].…”

Section: Nhsx Covid-19 Web Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical preparedness in health research and care: the role of behavioural approaches

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Public health scholars have long called for preparedness to help better negotiate ethical issues that emerge during public health emergencies. In this paper we argue that the concept of ethical preparedness has much to offer other areas of health beyond pandemic emergencies, particularly in areas where rapid technological developments have the potential to transform aspects of health research and care, as well as the relationship between them. We do this by viewing the ethical decision-making process as a behaviour, and conceptualising ethical preparedness as providing a health research/care setting that can facilitate the promotion of this behaviour. We draw on an implementation science and behaviour change model, COM-B, to demonstrate that to be ethically prepared requires having the capability (ability), opportunity, and motivation (willingness) to work in an ethically prepared way. Methods We use two case examples from our empirical research—one pandemic and one non-pandemic related—to illustrate how our conceptualisation of ethical preparedness can be applied in practice. The first case study was of the UK NHSX COVID-19 contact tracing application case study involved eight in-depth interviews with people involved with the development/governance of this application. The second case involved a complex case regarding familial communication discussed at the UK Genethics Forum. We used deductive qualitative analysis based on the COM-B model categories to analyse the transcripbed data from each case study. Results Our analysis highlighted that being ethically prepared needs to go beyond merely equipping health professionals with skills and knowledge, or providing research governance actors with ethical principles and/or frameworks. To allow or support these different actors to utilise their skills and knowledge (or principles and frameworks), a focus on the physical and social opportunity is important, as is a better understanding the role of motivation. Conclusions To understand ethical preparedness, we need to view the process of ethical decision-making as a behaviour. We have provided insight into the specific factors that are needed to promote this behaviour—using examples from both in the pandemic context as well as in areas of health research and medicine where there have been rapid technological developments. This offers a useful starting point for further conceptual work around the notion of being ethically prepared.

show abstract

Section: Nhsx Covid-19 Web Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical preparedness in health research and care: the role of behavioural approaches

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…If solidarity as a form of social cohesion follows CTA in time, this may have two different results. On the one hand, the public acceptance and individual use of CTA may strengthen the factual forms of social cohesion that exist in a collective (67) or strengthen factors that are elementary for them (72,82), it may prevent negative consequences for forms of social cohesion that would have happened if CTA were not accepted and used (66), or open up possibilities for reimagining old and establishing new relationships (92). On the other hand, the acceptance and use of CTA may also have a negative impact on a society's forms of social cohesion: by threatening or undermining the forms of social cohesion that exist in a collective (83), by weakening factors that are elementary for them (75,77,(80)(81)(82)86), by reinforcing existing discriminations and worsening the situation for specific groups of people (38,75,90,91), or by using resources for the development and implementation of CTA that would have had more positive effects on the community if used in an alternative way (88,89).…”

Section: Temporal Relations Between Solidarity and Contact Tracing Appsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Solidarity can guide or reflect the development of CTA morally (101,106) and can prevent CTA from having negative impacts on their users (e.g., due to improper development) (75,80,93). Solidarity as a moral value can guide the introduction of CTA into a society morally (95,98,99,104,109), it can also motivate individuals to use CTA (72,94,107), and contribute to their public acceptance (110).…”

Section: Temporal Relations Between Solidarity and Contact Tracing Appsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How is “solidarity” understood in discussions about contact tracing apps? An overview

Tretter

2022

Front. Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundIn the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is much discussion about contact tracing apps, their use to contain the spread of the virus as well as the ethical, legal, and social aspects of their development, implementation, acceptance, and use. In these discussions, authors frequently mention “solidarity” when making key points in arguments. At the same time, authors rarely specify how they understand “solidarity”. This lack of specification about how they understand “solidarity” can lead to misunderstandings in discussions.ObjectiveTo prevent such misunderstandings, it is important to specify how one understands “solidarity” when mentioning it in the discussions on contact tracing apps. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to elaborate how “solidarity” is understood in the context of contact tracing apps, i.e., how different authors understand “solidarity” when using it in discussions about these apps.MethodsIn order to find out how different authors understand “solidarity” when discussing contact tracing apps, I conduct a literature review. I collect papers from several databases, inductively work out central differences and similarities between the different uses of “solidarity”, and use them to code and analyze relevant passages.ResultsIn the final sample, five different understandings of “solidarity” in the context of contact tracing apps can be identified. These understandings differ in how different authors (1) imagine the basic concept of solidarity, i.e., what “solidarity” refers to, (2) how they temporally relate solidarity to contact tracing apps, and (3) how they perceive the causal interactions between solidarity and contact tracing apps, i.e., the different ways in which solidarity and contact tracing apps influence each other.ConclusionsThe five understandings of “solidarity” in the context of contact tracing apps presented here can serve as guidance for how “solidarity” can be understood in discussions—thus contributing to a better mutual understanding and preventing communicative misunderstandings.

show abstract

“…A DCTA will automatically record an individual's travel history, and both the user and public health departments will be notified if the user enters a high-risk area or comes into contact with a suspected COVID-19 patient. The appearance of such apps is considered a public health intervention that could slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives, as well as protect local health services [10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may be reflected in an individual's sense of responsibility to family, friends, and the community (e.g., preventing transmission of the virus to others) [16,27]. Therefore, it is meaningful to explain the role of a DCTA in preventing COVID-19 in practice from the perspective of responsibility [11]. As more countries relax their control policies to prevent COVID-19, the trade-off between the benefits and negative effects of a DCTA will likely influence subsequent COVID-19 prevention behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Digital Contact Tracing Apps Overuse on Prevention of COVID-19: A Normative Activation Model Perspective

Cao

Shang

2022

Life

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have used digital contact tracing apps (DCTAs) to implement contact tracing. Although the use of DCTAs has contributed to the prevention and control of COVID-19, there are doubts in academia about their actual effectiveness. In this study, the role of DCTAs in the prevention of COVID-19 was analyzed in terms of both the responsibility and inconvenience to life in a large-scale DCTA overuse environment, based on the normative activation model. The findings suggest that the overuse of a DCTA activates people’s personal norms by triggering awareness of the consequences and ascription of responsibility, leading people to consistently cooperate with the government to prevent COVID-19. However, the inconvenience of living with DCTA overuse weakens the effect of the awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibility and the role of the ascription of responsibility in influencing personal norms. These effects may bear on people’s willingness to consistently cooperate with the government to prevent COVID-19. The results of this study confirm the effectiveness of DCTA in counteracting pandemics from a social responsibility perspective in a large-scale environment where DCTA is used, enriching the literature on DCTA research in the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study can also help governments develop and improve policies to prevent COVID-19, as well as improve the DCTAs’ operating patterns.

show abstract

The UK COVID-19 contact tracing app as both an emerging technology and public health intervention: The need to consider promissory discourses

Cited by 6 publications

References 48 publications

Ethical preparedness in health research and care: the role of behavioural approaches

Ethical preparedness in health research and care: the role of behavioural approaches

How is “solidarity” understood in discussions about contact tracing apps? An overview

The Impact of Digital Contact Tracing Apps Overuse on Prevention of COVID-19: A Normative Activation Model Perspective

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About