ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic hit many countries hard, and Switzerland is no exception. This chapter deals with how Switzerland reacted to the crisis. In particular, it discusses the restrictions to the daily life that were in place and assesses these restrictions from a legal standpoint. The chapter then discusses the contact tracing apps and vaccinations. The Epidemics Act has been in force since 1 January 2016. The Epidemics Act introduces a three-part model applicable to normal, particular, and extraordinary situations, respectively;terms that were of high importance during the current pandemic. The measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic were flanked by a myriad of other ordinances of the Federal Council, many of them concerning financial aid, either in the form of money lent by private banks but fully guaranteed by the Confederation or lump sum payments. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Consumers' willingness to use health chatbots can eventually determine if the adoption of health chatbots will succeed in delivering healthcare services for combating COVID-19. However, little research to date has empirically explored influential factors of consumer willingness toward using these novel technologies, and the effect of individual differences in predicting this willingness. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to explore (a) the influential factors of consumers' willingness to use health chatbots related to COVID-19, (b) the effect of individual differences in predicting willingness, and (c) the likelihood of using health chatbots in the near future as well as the challenges/barriers that could hinder peoples' motivations. METHODS: An online survey was conducted which comprised of two sections. Section one measured participants' willingness by evaluating the following six factors: performance efficacy, intrinsic motivation, anthropomorphism, social influence, facilitating conditions, and emotions. Section two included questions on demographics, the likelihood of using health chatbots in the future, and concerns that could impede such motivation. RESULTS: A total of 166 individuals provided complete responses. Although 40% were aware of health chatbots and only 24% had used them before, about 84% wanted to use health chatbots in the future. The strongest predictors of willingness to use health chatbots came from the intrinsic motivation factor whereas the next strongest predictors came from the performance efficacy factor. Nearly 39.5% of participants perceived health chatbots to have human-like features such as consciousness and free will, but no emotions. About 38.4% were uncertain about the ease of using health chatbots. CONCLUSION: This study contributes toward theoretically understanding factors influencing peoples' willingness to use COVID-19-related health chatbots. The findings also show that the perception of chatbots' benefits outweigh the challenges.