Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2C8, Canada.
Division of Clinical Sciences Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Thunder Bay P7B 5E1, Canada.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2022 Mar 7;44(1):e141-e148. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdaa183.
The Canadian province of Alberta released the ABTraceTogether smartphone app in May 2020 to assist in contact tracing during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Public engagement with this public health tool has been low, limiting the effectiveness of the intervention. This study examines physician knowledge of the app and practice patterns in relation to the app.
We conducted a cross-sectional self-administered online English language survey of physicians and medical students in Alberta, Canada. The survey link was sent to all registered members of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta and was distributed by other provincial physician organizations and health zone leaders.
The survey received 317 responses. 96% of participants were aware of the app but only 27% had recommended the app to patients. The most common reason provided for not downloading or recommending the app was that participants had security concerns about the app. 23% of participants indicated they did not believe they had a responsibility to recommend the app to others.
Our study provides insights into participants' knowledge and beliefs about the ABTraceTogether app. This information may be valuable to public health officials who wish to engage physicians in future public health campaigns.
加拿大艾伯塔省于 2020 年 5 月发布了 AB TraceTogether 智能手机应用程序，以协助在 SARS-CoV-2 大流行期间进行接触者追踪。公众对这一公共卫生工具的参与度较低，限制了干预措施的有效性。本研究考察了医生对该应用程序的了解程度以及与该应用程序相关的实践模式。
我们对加拿大艾伯塔省的医生和医学生进行了一项横断面、自我管理的在线英语语言调查。调查链接发送给了艾伯塔省医师和外科医生学院的所有注册会员，并由其他省级医师组织和卫生区领导人分发。
该调查共收到 317 份回复。96%的参与者知道该应用程序，但只有 27%的人向患者推荐过该应用程序。不下载或不推荐该应用程序的最常见原因是参与者对该应用程序的安全性表示担忧。23%的参与者表示，他们认为自己没有责任向他人推荐该应用程序。
我们的研究提供了参与者对 AB Trace Together 应用程序的知识和信念的见解。这些信息可能对希望在未来的公共卫生运动中让医生参与的公共卫生官员很有价值。
