Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2021 May 5;16(5):e0251033. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251033. eCollection 2021.
Contact tracing is an important tool for suppressing COVID-19 but has been difficult to adapt to the conditions of a public health emergency. This study explored the experiences and perspectives of volunteer contact tracers in order to identify facilitators, challenges, and novel solutions for implementing COVID-19 contact tracing.
As part of a study to evaluate an emergently established volunteer contact tracing program for COVID-19 in New Haven, Connecticut, April-June 2020, we conducted focus groups with 36 volunteer contact tracers, thematically analyzed the data, and synthesized the findings using the RE-AIM implementation framework.
To successfully reach cases and contacts, participants recommended identifying clients' outreach preferences, engaging clients authentically, and addressing sources of mistrust. Participants felt that the effectiveness of successful isolation and quarantine was contingent on minimizing delays in reaching clients and on systematically assessing and addressing their nutritional, financial, and housing needs. They felt that successful adoption of a volunteer-driven contact tracing model depended on the ability to recruit self-motivated contact tracers and provide rapid training and consistent, supportive supervision. Participants noted that implementation could be enhanced with better management tools, such as more engaging interview scripts, user-friendly data management software, and protocols for special situations and populations. They also emphasized the value of coordinating outreach efforts with other involved providers and agencies. Finally, they believed that long-term maintenance of a volunteer-driven program requires monetary or educational incentives to sustain participation.
This is one of the first studies to qualitatively examine implementation of a volunteer-run COVID-19 contact tracing program. Participants identified facilitators, barriers, and potential solutions for improving implementation of COVID-19 contact tracing in this context. These included standardized communication skills training, supportive supervision, and peer networking to improve implementation, as well as greater cooperation with outside agencies, flexible scheduling, and volunteer incentives to promote sustainability.
接触者追踪是抑制 COVID-19 的重要工具，但难以适应突发公共卫生事件的情况。本研究旨在探索志愿者接触者追踪员的经验和观点，以确定实施 COVID-19 接触者追踪的促进因素、挑战和新的解决方案。
作为康涅狄格州纽黑文市 COVID-19 紧急建立的志愿者接触者追踪计划评估的一部分，我们对 36 名志愿者接触者进行了焦点小组讨论，对数据进行了主题分析，并使用 RE-AIM 实施框架综合研究结果。
为了成功接触到病例和接触者，参与者建议确定客户的外展偏好，与客户建立真实的联系，并解决信任问题。参与者认为成功隔离和检疫的有效性取决于尽可能减少与客户联系的延迟，并系统地评估和解决他们的营养、财务和住房需求。他们认为成功采用志愿者驱动的接触者追踪模式取决于招募有积极性的接触者的能力，并提供快速培训和持续、支持性的监督。参与者注意到，通过更好的管理工具，如更具吸引力的访谈脚本、用户友好的数据管理软件以及特殊情况和人群的协议，可以提高实施效果。他们还强调了协调与其他参与提供者和机构的外展工作的重要性。最后，他们认为，要维持志愿者驱动的计划，需要经济或教育激励措施来维持参与度。
这是首批定性研究志愿者管理的 COVID-19 接触者追踪计划实施情况的研究之一。参与者确定了在这种情况下改善 COVID-19 接触者追踪实施的促进因素、障碍和潜在解决方案。这些措施包括标准化的沟通技巧培训、支持性监督和同伴网络以提高实施效果，以及与外部机构加强合作、灵活的日程安排和志愿者激励以促进可持续性。
