Behavioral Barriers to Adoption of the Safer Illinois App: A Human-Centered Approach

ABSTRACT

COVID apps are being quickly rolled out worldwide by governments and private institutions to mitigate the pandemic. This research aimed to understand the behavioral and attitudinal barriers to the widespread adoption of the Safer in Illinois app among community stakeholders at a Big Ten public university in the Midwest. Using a Human Centered Design (HCD) approach, 25 campus members were interviewed to explore (1) issues around privacy and security of data, (2) institutional trust, and (3) community norms. Interviews were conducted during Summer 2020 and were analyzed to develop recommendations for the app development team and key university administrators. Such recommendations included (1) effective and trauma-informed communication by the university about Fall 2020 reopening and the data management and privacy features of the app, (2) incorporating mental health features and an anti-racist training on the app, and (3) address technological inequities and racial health disparities around COVID-19 as an institutional policy. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.