Drivers of Acceptance of COVID-19 Proximity Tracing Apps in Switzerland: Panel Survey Analysis
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Abstract
Digital proximity tracing apps have been released to mitigate the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus known to cause COVID-19. However, it remains unclear how the acceptance and uptake of these apps can be improved.
Objective
This study aimed to investigate the coverage of the SwissCovid app and the reasons for its nonuse in Switzerland during a period of increasing incidence of COVID-19 cases.
Methods
We collected data between September 28 and October 8, 2020, via a nationwide online panel survey (COVID-19 Social Monitor, N=1511). We examined sociodemographic and behavioral factors associated with app use by using multivariable logistic regression, whereas reasons for app nonuse were analyzed descriptively.
Results
Overall, 46.5% (703/1511) of the survey participants reported they used the SwissCovid app, which was an increase from 43.9% (662/1508) reported in the previous study wave conducted in July 2020. A higher monthly household income (ie, income >CHF 10,000 or >US $11,000 vs income ≤CHF 6000 or <US $6600 [reference]: odds ratio [OR] 1.92, 95% CI 1.40-2.64), more frequent internet use (ie, daily [reference] vs less than weekly: OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.16-0.85), better adherence to recommendations for wearing masks (ie, always or most of the time [reference] vs rarely or never: OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.15-0.52), and nonsmoker status (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.01-1.71) were associated with an increased likelihood for app uptake. Citizenship status (ie, non-Swiss citizenship vs. Swiss [reference]: OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.43-0.87), and language region (French vs Swiss German [reference]: OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.46-0.80) were associated with a lower likelihood for app uptake. Further analysis in a randomly selected subsample (n=712) with more detailed information showed that higher levels of trust in government and health authorities were also associated with a higher likelihood for app uptake (ie, high vs low [reference] trust: OR 3.13, 95% CI 1.58-6.22). The most frequent reasons for app nonuse were lack of perceived benefit of using the app (297/808, 36.8%), followed by the lack of a compatible phone (184/808, 22.8%), and privacy concerns (181/808, 22.4%).
Conclusions
Eliminating technical hurdles and communicating the benefits of digital proximity tracing apps are crucial to promote further uptake and adherence of such apps and, ultimately, enhance their effectiveness to aid pandemic mitigation strategies.
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SciScore for 10.1101/2020.08.29.20184382: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Institutional Review Board Statement IRB: There were 8’114 new SARS-CoV-2 cases (positive PCR-tests) reported during the study period from 28.09.2020 to 08.10.2020 in Switzerland.(15, 16) By contrast, the number of new cases was considerably lower in the preceding 11-day period (n=3’644 from 17.09.2020 to 27.09.2020).(15, 16) Ethics statement: For the Covid-19 Social Monitor, the Ethics Committee of the Canton Zurich confirmed that it does not fall under the Swiss Human Research Law (BASEC-Nr. Req-2020-00323).
Consent: Therefore, informed consent was not needed.Randomization (14) The Covid-19 Social Monitor is a cohort study of randomly selected participants of an existing online panel population. Bl… SciScore for 10.1101/2020.08.29.20184382: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Institutional Review Board Statement IRB: There were 8’114 new SARS-CoV-2 cases (positive PCR-tests) reported during the study period from 28.09.2020 to 08.10.2020 in Switzerland.(15, 16) By contrast, the number of new cases was considerably lower in the preceding 11-day period (n=3’644 from 17.09.2020 to 27.09.2020).(15, 16) Ethics statement: For the Covid-19 Social Monitor, the Ethics Committee of the Canton Zurich confirmed that it does not fall under the Swiss Human Research Law (BASEC-Nr. Req-2020-00323).
Consent: Therefore, informed consent was not needed.Randomization (14) The Covid-19 Social Monitor is a cohort study of randomly selected participants of an existing online panel population. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Table 2: Resources
No key resources detected.
Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).
Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.
Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.
Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.
Results from rtransparent:- Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- No protocol registration statement was detected.
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