Factors Influencing the Adoption of Contact Tracing Applications: Protocol for a Systematic Review

Kiemute Oyibo; Kirti Sundar Sahu; Arlene Oetomo; Plinio Pelegrini Morita

doi:10.2196/28961

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Contact Tracing Applications: Protocol for a Systematic Review

JMIR Res Protoc. 2021 Jun 1;10(6):e28961. doi: 10.2196/28961.

Authors

Kiemute Oyibo^#¹, Kirti Sundar Sahu¹, Arlene Oetomo¹, Plinio Pelegrini Morita^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
² Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
³ Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
⁴ eHealth Innovation, Techna Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 33974551
PMCID: PMC8171387
DOI: 10.2196/28961

Abstract

Background: Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital contact tracing apps have become prevalent worldwide in a coordinated effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. However, their uptake has been low and slow due to privacy concerns, the lack of trust and motivational affordances, and their minimalist design.

Objective: The objective of this article is to present a protocol for a systematic review of the main factors, including facilitators and barriers, that influence the adoption of contact tracing apps.

Methods: We searched seven databases, namely, Scopus, CINAHL, PubMed (MEDLINE), IEEE Xplore Digital Library, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Digital Library, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, for relevant publications between October 30, 2020, and January 31, 2021. Three authors were involved in removing duplicates, screening, and selection of relevant articles according to the PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols) guidelines.

Results: Altogether, we retrieved 777 articles from the seven databases. As of May 14, 2021, we have completed the screening process and arrived at 13 eligible articles to be included in the systematic review. We hope to elicit, summarize, and report the main findings in the systematic review article by the end of August 2021. We expect to uncover facilitators and barriers related to app utility, data security, ease of use, and persuasive design that are deemed important to adoption of contact tracing apps.

Conclusions: The findings of the systematic review will help researchers to uncover the gaps in the adoption of contact tracing apps, and decision makers and designers to focus on the principal adoption factors necessary to create better and more effective contact tracing apps.

International registered report identifier (irrid): DERR1-10.2196/28961.

Keywords: COVID-19; adoption; barrier; challenge; contact tracing app; effective; perception; review; technology acceptance; usability; user perception.

©Kiemute Oyibo, Kirti Sundar Sahu, Arlene Oetomo, Plinio Pelegrini Morita. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 01.06.2021.