Chambers Tim, Anglemyer Andrew, Chen Andrew, Atkinson June, Elers Phoebe, Baker Michael G
Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2024 Dec;48(6):100197. doi: 10.1016/j.anzjph.2024.100197. Epub 2024 Nov 5.
Our primary research objective was to assess the population uptake and contact tracer utilisation of the Bluetooth function of the New Zealand Covid Tracer App (NZCTA) throughout the pandemic.
We adopted a retrospective cohort study design using all diagnosed COVID-19 community cases from December 12, 2020 to February 16, 2022.
At its height, more than 60% of the eligible population had the Bluetooth function of NZCTA activated. However, only an estimated 2.2% of the population was able to fully participate. Cases managed by the national case investigation service were 17 times (aRR 17.54, 95%CI: 13.02-23.90) and 9 times (aRR 9.27, 95%CI: 6.91, 12.76) more likely to generate a Bluetooth token than cases managed by local public health units during the Delta and Omicron periods, respectively.
The Bluetooth functionality of the NZCTA likely had a low impact on the pandemic response in NZ despite its exceptionally high levels of public uptake. The primary reason for the lack of impact was the low utilisation by contact tracers.
The results highlight the need for greater consultation and collaboration with the public health sector during the development and implementation of digital contact tracing tools.
我们的主要研究目标是评估在整个疫情期间，新西兰新冠追踪应用程序（NZCTA）蓝牙功能在人群中的使用情况以及接触者追踪人员对该功能的利用情况。
我们采用回顾性队列研究设计，研究对象为2020年12月12日至2022年2月16日期间所有确诊的新冠社区病例。
在其使用高峰期，超过60%的符合条件人群激活了NZCTA的蓝牙功能。然而，估计只有2.2%的人群能够充分参与。在德尔塔和奥密克戎时期，由国家病例调查服务机构管理的病例分别比由地方公共卫生单位管理的病例生成蓝牙令牌的可能性高17倍（调整后风险比17.54，95%置信区间：13.02 - 23.90）和9倍（调整后风险比9.27，95%置信区间：6.91，12.76）。
尽管NZCTA的蓝牙功能在公众中的使用率极高，但它对新西兰疫情应对的影响可能较低。缺乏影响的主要原因是接触者追踪人员的利用率较低。
研究结果凸显了在数字接触者追踪工具的开发和实施过程中，需要与公共卫生部门进行更多协商与合作。
