National Coordination Centre for Communicable Disease Control, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Sep 16;23(1):1804. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16664-x.
Contact tracing (CT) is a key strategy when dealing with outbreaks of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. The scale of the COVID-19 pandemic has often left public health professionals (PHPs), who are responsible for the execution of CT, unable to keep up with the rapid and largescale spread of the virus. To enhance or support its execution, and potentially lower the workload for PHPs, citizens may be more actively involved in CT-tasks that are commonly executed by PHPs (referred to as 'self-led CT'). There is limited insight into citizens' perspectives on and needs for self-led CT for COVID-19. This study aims to explore the perspectives and needs of Dutch citizens on taking more responsibilities in the execution of CT for COVID-19, potentially through the use of digital tools.
An exploratory qualitative study was performed, in which online semi-structured interviews were conducted. Questions were based on the Reasoned Action Approach and Health Belief Model. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify citizens' perspectives and needs to participate in self-led CT.
We conducted 27 interviews with Dutch citizens. Seven main themes were identified from the interviews: 1) 'Citizens' perspectives on self-led CT are influenced by prior experiences with regular CT', 2) 'Citizens' felt responsibilities and the perceived responsibilities of the PHS in CT shape their perspectives on self-led CT', 3) 'Anticipated impacts of self-led CT on the CT-process', 4) 'Citizens' attitude towards the application of self-led CT depends on their own perceived skills and the willingness and skills of others', 5) 'Shame and social stigma may hamper participation in self-led CT', 6) 'Concerns about privacy and data security: a barrier for self-led CT', and 7) 'Citizens' perspectives and anticipated needs for the implementation and application of self-led CT in practice'.
Most interviewees hold a positive attitude towards self-led CT and using digital tools for this purpose. However, their intention for self-led CT may depend on various factors, such as prior experiences with regular CT, and their perceived self-efficacy to participate. Perspectives and needs of citizens should be considered for the future implementation of self-led CT in practice.
接触者追踪（CT）是应对 COVID-19 等传染病爆发的关键策略。COVID-19 大流行的规模常常使负责执行 CT 的公共卫生专业人员（PHPs）无法跟上病毒的快速大规模传播。为了增强或支持其执行，并可能降低 PHPs 的工作量，公民可能会更积极地参与通常由 PHPs 执行的 CT 任务（称为“自我主导 CT”）。对于公民对 COVID-19 自我主导 CT 的看法和需求，了解有限。本研究旨在探讨荷兰公民对在执行 COVID-19 接触者追踪方面承担更多责任的看法和需求，可能通过使用数字工具。
进行了一项探索性定性研究，其中进行了在线半结构化访谈。问题基于理性行为理论和健康信念模型。访谈进行了录音并逐字记录。进行了主题分析，以确定公民参与自我主导 CT 的观点和需求。
我们对 27 名荷兰公民进行了访谈。从访谈中确定了七个主要主题：1）“公民对自我主导 CT 的看法受其对常规 CT 的先前经验的影响”；2）“公民对自己在 CT 中的责任和 PHPS 的感知责任塑造了他们对自我主导 CT 的看法”；3）“自我主导 CT 对 CT 过程的预期影响”；4）“公民对自我主导 CT 的态度取决于他们自己的感知技能以及他人的意愿和技能”；5）“羞耻感和社会耻辱感可能会阻碍自我主导 CT 的参与”；6）“对隐私和数据安全的担忧：自我主导 CT 的障碍”；7）“公民对自我主导 CT 在实践中的实施和应用的看法和预期需求”。
大多数受访者对自我主导 CT 和为此目的使用数字工具持积极态度。然而，他们对自我主导 CT 的意愿可能取决于各种因素，例如常规 CT 的先前经验以及他们参与的自我效能感。应该考虑公民的观点和需求，以便在实践中实施自我主导 CT。
