Skip to main content

Designing to Fight Pandemics: A Review of Literature and Identifying Design Patterns for COVID-19 Tracing Apps

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Human-Computer Interaction. User Experience and Behavior (HCII 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 13304))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 2078 Accesses

Abstract

Throughout the pandemic, digital contact tracing using smartphone applications (or apps) has been endorsed by many authorities across the globe as a tool to limit the spread of COVID-19. Consequently, to deploy contact tracing in large populations, multiple contact tracing apps have been developed and deployed globally. However, due to the relative recency of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the suddenness of the need for contact tracing at this scale, app designers are often left with no systematic guidelines. Designers today lack guidelines on what factors might affect perceptions and adoption of their apps. They also lack a knowledgebase of features that could be appropriate to include in their app for a given context. To address this gap, we conducted a review of the academic literature on attitudes towards and adoption of COVID-19 response apps, as well as a feature review of a diverse set of international tracing apps. Our investigation yielded a set of design patterns which can be used readily by designers of contact tracing apps. Our work lays the foundation to identify opportunities for new contextual feature design and use.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Wired Opinion: The Success of Contact Tracing Doesn't Just Depend on Privacy. Wired. Conde Nast, 23 May 2020. https://www.wired.com/story/the-success-of-contact-tracing-doesnt-just-depend-on-privacy/

  2. Miller, S., Smith, M.: Ethics, public health and technology responses to COVID‐19. Bioethics 35(4), 366–371 (2021). Res. Lib. Sci. Technol. https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.12856

  3. Abueg, M., et al.: Modeling the effect of exposure notification and non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 transmission in Washington State. NPJ Digit. Med. 4(1) (2021). SCOPUS. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-021-00422-7.www.scopus.com

  4. Shu Wei, T.D., Lawrence, C., Victor, D., Wong, T.Y.: Digital technology and COVID-19. Nat. Med. 26(4), 459–461 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0824-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Jobie, B., et al.: Digital technologies in the public-health response to COVID-19. Nat. Med. 26(8), 1183–1192 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-1011-4

  6. Halan, D.: Trends: Role of Information Technology in Covid-19 Research. Electronics for You, 01 Mar 2021. ProQuest

    Google Scholar 

  7. Rapid Implementation of Mobile Technology for Real-Time Epidemiology of COVID-19. Science 368(6497), 1362–1367 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc0473. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/rapid-implementation-mobile-technology-real-time/docview/2414833342

  8. Tong, A., Sorrell, T.C., Black, A.J., et al.: Research priorities for COVID-19 sensor technology. Nat. Biotechnol. 39, 144–147 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-021-00816-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Yusuke, Y., Shelby, K.L., Makoto, I.: Human–automation trust to technologies for naïve users amidst and following the COVID-19 Pandemic. Hum. Fact. 62(7), 1087–1094 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720820948981

  10. Gemma, N., et al.: Innovation under pressure: Implications for data privacy during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Big Data & Society 7(2) (2020). https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951720976680

  11. Mokbel, M., Abbar, S., Stanojevic, R.: Contact tracing: beyond the apps. SIGSPATIAL Special 12, 2, 15–24 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1145/3431843.3431846

  12. Utz, C., et al.: Apps against the spread: Privacy implications and user acceptance of COVID-19-related smartphone apps on three continents. In: Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May 2021. https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445517

  13. Robertson, E., et al.: Predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the UK household longitudinal study. Brain Behav. Immun. 94, 41–50 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2021.03.008

  14. Caserotti, M., et al.: Associations of COVID-19 risk perception with vaccine hesitancy over time for Italian residents. Soc. Sci. Med. 272, 113688 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113688

  15. Perry, S.L., et al.: Culture wars and COVID-19 conduct: Christian nationalism, religiosity, and Americans’ behavior during the coronavirus pandemic. J. Sci. Study Religion 59(3), 405–416 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12677

  16. Gokmen, Y., et al.: The impact of national culture on the increase of COVID-19: A cross-country analysis of European countries. Int. J. Intercult. Rel. 81, 1–8 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2020.12.006

  17. Opratko, B., et al.: Cultures of rejection in the Covid-19 Crisis. Ethnic Racial Stud. 44(5), 893–905 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1859575

  18. Grishina, N.V., Lupulyak, P.V.: The COVID-19 experience: Features of culture and belonging in the context of peoples native to a country and migrants. Psychol. Russia State Art 13(4), 119–33 (2020). https://doi.org/10.11621/pir.2020.0408

  19. Help Speed up Contact Tracing with Trace Together. http://www.gov.sg/article/help-speed-up-contact-tracing-with-tracetogether

  20. Hinch, R., et al.: Effective configurations of a digital contact tracing app: A report to nhsx

    Google Scholar 

  21. PEPP-PT: Data Protection and Information Security Architecture (2020). GitHub, 20 Apr 2020. https://github.com/pepp-pt/pepp-pt-documentation/blob/master/10-data-protection/PEPP-PT-data-protection-information-security-architecture-Germany.pdf

  22. Troncoso, C. et al.: Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing. 25 May 2020. https://github.com/DP-3T/documents/blob/master/DP3T%20White%20Paper.pdf

  23. Thomas, R., Michaleff, Z.A., Greenwood, H., Abukmail, E., Glasziou, P.: Concerns and misconceptions about the Australian government’s Covidsafe app: Cross-sectional survey study. JMIR Pub. Health Surveill. 6(4), e23081 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Simko, L., Chang, J.L., Jiang, M., Calo, R., Roesner, F., Kohno, T.: Covid-19 contact tracing and privacy: A longitudinal study of public opinion. arXiv preprint arXiv:2012.01553 (2020)

  25. Walrave, M., Waeterloos, C., Ponnet, K.: Ready or not for contact tracing? investigating the adoption intention of covid-19 contact-tracing technology using an extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model. Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Networking (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Altmann, S., et al.: Acceptability of app-based contact tracing for covid-19: Cross-country survey study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 8(8), e19857 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Guillon, M., Kergall, P.: Attitudes and opinions on quarantine and support for a contact-tracing application in France during the covid-19 outbreak. Public health, 188:21–31 (2020). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7550094/

  28. Buder, F., et al.: Adoption rates for contact tracing app configurations in Germany (2020). https://www.nim.org/sites/default/files/medien/359/dokumente/2020_nim_report_tracing_app_adoption_fin_0.pdf

  29. Kostka, G., Habich-Sobiegalla, S.: In times of crisis: Public perceptions towards covid-19 contact tracing apps in China, Germany and the US, 16 September 2020. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3693783

  30. Washington Post-University of Maryland National Poll, 21–26 April 2020. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/washington-post-university-of-maryland-national-poll-april-21-26-2020/3583b4e9-66be-4ed6-a457-f6630a550ddf/

  31. Bachtiger, P., Adamson, A., Quint, J.K., Peters, N.S.: Belief of having had unconfirmed covid-19 infection reduces willingness to participate in app-based contact tracing. NPJ Digital Med. 3(1), 1–7 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Wiertz, C., Banerjee, A., Acar, O.A., Ghosh, A.: Predicted adoption rates of contact tracing app configurations-insights from a choice-based conjoint study with a representative sample of the UK population. Available at SSRN 3589199 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Baumgärtner, L., et al.: Mind the gap: Security & privacy risks of contact tracing apps. arXiv preprint arXiv:2006.05914 (2020)

  34. Hargittai, E., et al.: Americans’ Willingness to Adopt a COVID-19 Tracking App: The Role of App Distributor. First Monday, Oct 2020. firstmonday.org. https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v25i11.11095

  35. Hassandoust, F., Akhlaghpour, S., Johnston, A.C.: Individuals’ privacy concerns and adoption of contact tracing mobile applications in a pandemic: A situational privacy calculus perspective. J. Am. Med. Inf. Assoc. (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Horstmann, K.T., Buecker, S., Krasko, J., Kritzler, S., Terwiel, S.: Who does or does not use the “corona-warn-app” and why? Euro. J. Pub. Health (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Horvath, L., Banducci, S., James, O.: Citizens’ attitudes to contact tracing apps. J. Exp. Polit. Sci. 1–13 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Kaptchuk, G., Hargittai, E., Redmiles, E.M.: How good is good enough for covid19 apps? The influence of benefits, accuracy, and privacy on willingness to adopt. arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.04343 (2020)

  39. Li, T., et al.: What makes people install a covid-19 contact-tracing app? Understanding the influence of app design and individual difference on contact- tracing app adoption intention. arXiv preprint arXiv:2012.12415 (2020)

  40. Li, T., et al.: Decentralized is not risk-free: Understanding public perceptions of privacy utility trade-offs in covid-19 contact-tracing apps. arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.11957 (2020)

  41. O’Callaghan, M.E., et al.: A national survey of attitudes to COVID-19 digital contact tracing in the Republic of Ireland. Irish J. Med. Sci. (1971 -) 190(3), 863–887 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-020-02389-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Redmiles, E.M.: User concerns & Tradeoffs in technology-facilitated COVID-19 response. Digit. Gov.: Res. Pract. 2(1), Article 6, 12. https://doi.org/10.1145/3428093(2021)

  43. Trang, S., Trenz, M., Weiger, W.H., Tarafdar, M., Cheung, C.M.K.: One app to trace them all? Examining app specifications for mass acceptance of contact-tracing apps. Eur. J. Inf. Syst. 29(4), 415–428 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2020.1784046

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Nakamoto, I., et al.: A QR code–based contact tracing framework for sustainable containment of COVID-19: Evaluation of an approach to assist the return to normal activity. JMIR MHealth and UHealth 8(9), e22321 (2020). mhealth.jmir.org. https://doi.org/10.2196/22321

  45. von Wyl, V., et al.: Drivers of acceptance of COVID-19 proximity tracing apps in Switzerland: Panel survey analysis. JMIR Pub. Health Surveill. 7(1), e25701. https://doi.org/10.2196/25701

  46. Williams, S.N., et al.: Public attitudes towards COVID-19 contact tracing apps: A UK-based focus group study. Health Expect. Int. J. Pub. Participation Health Care Health Policy 24(2), 377–385 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13179

  47. Zhang, B., et al.: Americans’ perceptions of privacy and surveillance in the COVID-19 pandemic. PLOS ONE 15(12), e0242652 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242652

  48. Peng, W., et al.: A qualitative study of user perceptions of mobile health apps. BMC Public Health 16(1), 1158 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3808-0

  49. Imran, A., et al.: AI4COVID-19: AI enabled preliminary diagnosis for COVID-19 from cough samples via an app. Inf. Med. Unlocked 20, 100378 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imu.2020.100378

  50. Privacy-Preserving Contact Tracing - Apple and Google. Apple. https://www.apple.com/covid19/contacttracing

  51. Davalbhakta, S., et al.: A systematic review of the smartphone applications available for corona virus disease 2019 (COVID19) and their assessment using the mobile app rating scale (MARS). medRxiv, 4 July 2020, p. 2020.07.02.20144964. medRxiv, https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.02.20144964v1

  52. Servick, K.: Can phone apps slow the spread of the Coronavirus?” Science, June 2020. www.science.org, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.368.6497.1296

  53. The Covid Tracing Tracker: What’s Happening in Coronavirus Apps around the World. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/16/1014878/covid-tracing-tracker/

  54. COVID Live - Coronavirus Statistics - Worldometer. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xinru Page .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Criddle, I., Hardy, A., Smith, G., Ranck, T., Mondal, M., Page, X. (2022). Designing to Fight Pandemics: A Review of Literature and Identifying Design Patterns for COVID-19 Tracing Apps. In: Kurosu, M. (eds) Human-Computer Interaction. User Experience and Behavior. HCII 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13304. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05412-9_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05412-9_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-05411-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-05412-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics