Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33621189›Full record

ArticleJMIR formative research2021

A Patient-Initiated Digital COVID-19 Contact Notification Tool (TellYourContacts): Evaluation Study.

Kelechi S Okpara, Jennifer Hecht, Dan Wohlfeiler, Matthew Prior, Jeffrey D Klausner

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR formative research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 42% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Kelechi S OkparaDavid Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4814-7995
Jennifer HechtBuilding Healthy Online Communities, San Francisco, CA, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4294-9102
Dan WohlfeilerBuilding Healthy Online Communities, San Francisco, CA, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7731-9234
Matthew PriorNational Coalition of STD Directors, Washington, DC, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7599-8141
Jeffrey D KlausnerDepartment of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6922-7364
National Coalition of STD Directors · USSan Francisco AIDS Foundation · USUniversity of California, Los Angeles · USUniversity of Southern California · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundContact notification is a method used to control the spread of infectious disease. In this process, a patient who tests positive for an infectious disease and public health officials work to identify the patient's close contacts, notify them of their risk of possible exposure to the disease, and provide resources to facilitate the decreased spreading of disease. Contact notification can be done physically in person, via phone call, or digitally through the use of media such as SMS text messages and email. When alerts are made through the latter, it is called digital contact notification.

objectiveFor this study, we aim to perform a preliminary evaluation of the use of the TellYourContacts website, a digital contact notification tool for COVID-19 that can be used confidentially and anonymously. We will gather information about the number of website users and message senders, the types of messages sent, and the geographic distribution of senders.

methodsPatients who chose to get tested for COVID-19 and subsequently tested positive for the disease were alerted of their positive results through Curative Inc (a COVID-19 testing laboratory) and Healthvana (a results disclosure app). Included in the notification was a link to the TellYourContacts website and a message encouraging the person who tested positive for COVID-19 to use the website to alert their close contacts of exposure risk. Over the course of three months, from May 18, 2020, to August 17, 2020, we used Google Analytics and Microsoft Excel to record data on the number of website users and message senders, types of messages sent, and geographic distribution of the senders.

resultsOver the course of three months, 9130 users accessed the website and 1474 unique senders sent a total of 1957 messages, which included 1820 (93%) SMS text messages and 137 (7%) emails. Users sent messages from 40 US states, with the majority of US senders residing in California (49%).

conclusionsWe set out to determine if individuals who test positive for COVID-19 will use the TellYourContacts website to notify their close contacts of COVID-19 exposure risk. Our findings reveal that, during the observation period, each unique sender sent an average of 1.33 messages. The TellYourContacts website offers an additional method that individuals can and will use to notify their close contacts about a recent COVID-19 diagnosis.

Indexed as

contact notification websiteCOVID-19digital contact tracingpatient-led digital contact notification

Identifiers

PMID33621189
PMCPMC7939055
OpenAlexW3126354780

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.