Teenager Perspectives on COVID Alert, a Digital Exposure Notification App in Canada.

PURPOSE: COVID Alert is an exposure notification app deployed in Canada to help limit the spread of COVID-19. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey conducted in Québec, Canada. The questionnaire was codesigned with patients and members of the public. It assessed the perspectives of teenagers aged 15-17 years old. RESULTS: Among 237 respondents, 27% had downloaded the COVID Alert app. Friends and relatives constituted the largest influence for app download. The most frequently reported concerns included threats to privacy, confidentiality, cybersecurity, and geolocalization. Among nonusers, having more social contacts and evidence demonstrating effectiveness would have motivated app download. Individual factors associated with download included high concern about the pandemic and high self-perceived app knowledge. DISCUSSION: Future digital health interventions should engage teenagers in developing tools that promote social acceptance and responsible use in this group.

Public Perspectives on Exposure Notification Apps: A Patient and Citizen Co-Designed Study.

Canada deployed a digital exposure notification app (COVID Alert) as a strategy to support manual contact tracing. Our aims are to (1) assess the use, knowledge, and concerns of the COVID Alert app, (2) identify predictors of app downloads, and (3) develop strategies to promote social acceptability. A 36-item questionnaire was co-designed by 12 citizens and patients partnered with 16 academic researchers and was distributed in the province of Québec, Canada, from May 27 to 28 June 2021. Of 959 respondents, 43% had downloaded the app. Messaging from government sources constituted the largest influence on app download. Infrequent social contacts and perceived app inefficacy were the main reasons not to download the app. Cybersecurity, data confidentiality, loss of privacy, and geolocation were the most frequent concerns. Nearly half of the respondents inaccurately believed that the app used geolocation. Most respondents supported citizen involvement in app development. The identified predictors for app uptake included nine characteristics. In conclusion, this project highlights four key themes on how to promote the social acceptability of such tools: (1) improved communication and explanation of key app characteristics, (2) design features that incentivize adoption, (3) inclusive socio-technical features, and (4) upstream public partnership in development and deployment.