Abstract
Purpose Digital contact tracing technologies are critical to the fight against COVID-19 in many countries including the UK. However, a number of ethical, legal and socio-economic concerns that can affect uptake of the app have been raised. The purpose of this research is to explore the perceptions of the UK digital contact tracing app in the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community in Leicester and how this can affect its deployment and implementation. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected through virtual focus groups in Leicester, UK. A total of 28 participants were recruited for the study. All participants are members of the BAME community, and data was thematically analysed with NVivo 11. Findings A majority of the participants were unwilling to download and use the app owing to legal and ethical concerns. A minority were willing to use the app based on the need to protect public health. There was a general understanding that lack of uptake will negatively affect the fight against COVID-19 in BAME communities and an acknowledgement of the need for the government to rebuild trust through transparency and development of regulatory safeguards to enhance privacy and prevent misuse. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the research makes original contributions being the first robust study conducted to explore perceptions of marginalised communities, particularly BAME which may be adversely impacted by the deployment of the app. By exploring community-based perceptions, this study further contributes to the emerging citizens’ perceptions on digital contact tracing which is crucial to the effectiveness and the development of an efficient, community-specific response to public attitudes towards the app. The findings can also help the development of responsible innovation approaches that balances the competing interests of digital health interventions with the needs and expectations of the BAME community in the UK.
Highlights
The United Kingdom (UK) accounts for more than 150,000 deaths of the over 3 million COVID-19 related deaths recorded globally as of 25 April 2021
By exploring community-based perceptions, this study further contributes to the emerging citizens’ perceptions on digital contact tracing which is crucial to the effectiveness and the development of an efficient, community-specific response to public attitudes towards the app
The group of participants who were undecided expressed similar concerns but were hoping for some changes to be convinced. Three participants expressed their willingness to download the app based on the positive impact it might have for public health, for the BAME community
Summary
The United Kingdom (UK) accounts for more than 150,000 deaths of the over 3 million COVID-19 related deaths recorded globally as of 25 April 2021. Evidence from both academic literature and public health reports demonstrate that people from the black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (BAME) have had the highest rate of infection and mortality (PHE, 2020a, 2020b; Otu et al, 2020; ONS, 2020). The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health Research are funding about six research projects in 2020 to improve our understanding of the links between COVID-19 and ethnicity and to develop measures to mitigate the disproportionate death rates (UKRI, 2021). The spread of COVID-19 has exposed societal flaws, inequalities and inconsistencies with BAME communities and on a wider scale, necessitated the adoption of novel strategies for curbing the spread of the infection
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