Information Safety Assurances Increase Intentions to Use COVID-19 Contact Tracing Applications, Regardless of Autonomy-Supportive or Controlling Message Framing.

Emma L Bradshaw,Michael Noetel,Peter Slattery,Alexander K Saeri,Richard M Ryan,Rafael Calvo,Emily Grundy

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.591638

Abstract

Promoting the use of contact tracing technology will be an important step in global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Across two studies, we assessed two messaging strategies as motivators of intended contact tracing uptake. In one sample of 1117 Australian adults and one sample of 888 American adults, we examined autonomy-supportive and controlling message framing and the presence or absence of information safety as predictors of intended contact tracing application uptake, using an online randomized 2 × 2 experimental design. The results suggested that the provision of data safety assurances may be key in affecting people’s intentions to use contact tracing technology, an effect we found in both samples regardless of whether messages were framed as autonomy-supportive or controlling. Those in high information safety conditions consistently reported higher intended uptake and more positive perceptions of the application than those in low information safety conditions. In Study 2, we also found that perceptions of government legitimacy related positively to intended application uptake, as did political affiliation. In sum, individuals appeared more willing to assent to authority regarding contact tracing insofar as their data safety can be assured. Yet, public messaging strategies alone may be insufficient to initiate intentions to change behavior, even in these unprecedented circumstances.

Highlights

Countries around the world continue to experiment with policy responses to manage COVID-19 infections and harms, often to greater and lesser effectiveness and tolerability among their citizens
We did not find an effect of message framing or an interaction between information safety and message framing in the prediction of contact tracing application uptake
Belonging to the high information safety conditions resulted in a greater likelihood of downloading the application and of recommending it to friends and family, compared to the low information safety conditions

Summary

Introduction

Countries around the world continue to experiment with policy responses to manage COVID-19 infections and harms, often to greater and lesser effectiveness and tolerability among their citizens. One effective way to do so Messaging and COVID-19 Contact Tracing Uptake may be to trace the contacts of people who are COVID-19 positive, and test those contacts. Contact tracing technologies can rapidly accelerate this process. People can use software on their mobile devices to track their recent contacts. Health professionals can use the software to notify those who have been in close contact with a newly infected person, so those at risk can get tested or self-isolate. If very few people use the technology, its effectiveness will be greatly compromised. Understanding how to best motivate use of contact tracing applications is of vital importance to the process of recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Selfdetermination theory (SDT; Ryan and Deci, 2017) provides a parsimonious and evidence-based framework for understanding how the framing and content of social messages can motivate or undermine behavior change

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Conclusion