The Dutch COVID-19 Contact Tracing App (the CoronaMelder): Usability Study

BackgroundAdoption and evaluation of contact tracing tools based on information and communications technology may expand the reach and efficacy of traditional contact tracing methods in fighting COVID-19. The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports initiated and developed CoronaMelder, a COVID-19 contact tracing app. This app is based on a Google/Apple Exposure Notification approach and aims to combat the spread of the coronavirus among individuals by notifying those who are at increased risk of infection due to proximity to someone who later tests positive for COVID-19. The app should su... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Bente, Britt Elise
van 't Klooster, Jan Willem Jaap Roderick
Schreijer, Maud Annemarie
Berkemeier, Lea
van Gend, Joris Elmar
Slijkhuis, Peter Jan Hendrik
Kelders, Saskia Marion
van Gemert-Pijnen
Julia Elisabeth Wilhelmina Cornelia
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2021
Reihe/Periodikum: JMIR Formative Research, Vol 5, Iss 3, p e27882 (2021)
Verlag/Hrsg.: JMIR Publications
Schlagwörter: Medicine / R
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27408904
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.2196/27882

BackgroundAdoption and evaluation of contact tracing tools based on information and communications technology may expand the reach and efficacy of traditional contact tracing methods in fighting COVID-19. The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports initiated and developed CoronaMelder, a COVID-19 contact tracing app. This app is based on a Google/Apple Exposure Notification approach and aims to combat the spread of the coronavirus among individuals by notifying those who are at increased risk of infection due to proximity to someone who later tests positive for COVID-19. The app should support traditional contact tracing by faster tracing and greater reach compared to regular contact tracing procedures. ObjectiveThe main goal of this study is to investigate whether the CoronaMelder is able to support traditional contact tracing employed by public health authorities. To achieve this, usability tests were conducted to answer the following question: is the CoronaMelder user-friendly, understandable, reliable and credible, and inclusive? MethodsParticipants (N=44) of different backgrounds were recruited: youth with varying educational levels, youth with an intellectual disability, migrants, adults (aged 40-64 years), and older adults (aged >65 years) via convenience sampling in the region of Twente in the Netherlands. The app was evaluated with scenario-based, think-aloud usability tests and additional interviews. Findings were recorded via voice recordings, observation notes, and the Dutch User Experience Questionnaire, and some participants wore eye trackers to measure gaze behavior. ResultsOur results showed that the app is easy to use, although problems occurred with understandability and accessibility. Older adults and youth with a lower education level did not understand why or under what circumstances they would receive notifications, why they must share their key (ie, their assigned identifier), and what happens after sharing. In particular, youth in the lower-education category did not trust or ...