Abstract
BackgroundCorona contact tracing apps are a novel and promising measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19. They can help to balance the need to maintain normal life and economic activities as much as possible while still avoiding exponentially growing case numbers. However, a majority of citizens need to be willing to install such an app for it to be effective. Hence, knowledge about drivers for app uptake is crucial.ObjectiveThis study aimed to add to our understanding of underlying psychological factors motivating app uptake. More specifically, we investigated the role of concern for one’s own health and concern to unknowingly infect others.MethodsA two-wave survey with 346 German-speaking participants from Switzerland and Germany was conducted. We measured the uptake of two decentralized contact tracing apps officially launched by governments (Corona-Warn-App, Germany; SwissCovid, Switzerland), as well as concerns regarding COVID-19 and control variables.ResultsControlling for demographic variables and general attitudes toward the government and the pandemic, logistic regression analysis showed a significant effect of self-focused concerns (odds ratio [OR] 1.64, P=.002). Meanwhile, concern of unknowingly infecting others did not contribute significantly to the prediction of app uptake over and above concern for one’s own health (OR 1.01, P=.92). Longitudinal analyses replicated this pattern and showed no support for the possibility that app uptake provokes changes in levels of concern. Testing for a curvilinear relationship, there was no evidence that “too much” concern leads to defensive reactions and reduces app uptake.ConclusionsAs one of the first studies to assess the installation of already launched corona tracing apps, this study extends our knowledge of the motivational landscape of app uptake. Based on this, practical implications for communication strategies and app design are discussed.
Highlights
J Med Internet Res 2021 | vol 23 | iss. 8 | e29268 | p. 1 große Deters et al Background In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic [1], and worldwide governments took radical measures to reduce the rate of transmission [2]
This study focuses on two decentralized contact tracing apps (CTAs) officially launched by governments (Corona-Warn-App, Germany; SwissCovid, Switzerland)
In contrast to most previous research, we focused on the emotional aspect of risk perception and assessed not just the intention to install a CTA but predict the actual installation of two already launched apps in real life
Summary
BackgroundIn March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic [1], and worldwide governments took radical measures to reduce the rate of transmission [2]. Simulation studies suggest that 56% of a population must use the app for an effect on the overall development of case numbers [7] To reach this goal, it is important to understand what motivates citizens to adopt CTAs [8]. This study aimed to add to this line of research by investigating the role of self-focused and other-focused concerns regarding COVID-19 as so far understudied predictors of the adoption of two already launched CTAs. Corona contact tracing apps are a novel and promising measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19. We measured the uptake of two decentralized contact tracing apps officially launched by governments (Corona-Warn-App, Germany; SwissCovid, Switzerland), as well as concerns regarding COVID-19 and control variables. Practical implications for communication strategies and app design are discussed
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