Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37862068›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2023

Smartphone Apps for Containing the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany: Qualitative Interview Study With Experts Based on Grounded Theory.

Dennis Krämer, Elisabeth Brachem, Lydia Schneider-Reuter, Isabella D'Angelo, Jochen Vollmann, Joschka Haltaufderheide

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

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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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

6 authors.

Dennis KrämerFaculty of Social Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7833-4068
Elisabeth BrachemFaculty of Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.ORCID 0009-0007-1261-1502
Lydia Schneider-ReuterFaculty of Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.ORCID 0009-0009-8054-1002
Isabella D'AngeloFaculty of Health, University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-4039-5778
Jochen VollmannFaculty of Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-0148-6431
Joschka HaltaufderheideJoint Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-5014-4593

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSmartphone apps, including those for digital contact tracing (DCT), played a crucial role in containing infections during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their primary function is to generate and disseminate information to disrupt transmissions based on various events, such as encounters, vaccinations, locations, or infections. Although the functionality of these apps has been extensively studied, there is still a lack of qualitative research addressing critical issues.

objectiveWe will demonstrate that the use of DCT presents a challenge due to the tension between continuous health monitoring and uncertainties related to transparency and user sovereignty. On one hand, DCT enables the monitoring of various risk factors, including data-based calculations of infection probabilities. On the other hand, continuous risk management is intertwined with several uncertainties, including the unclear storage of personal data, who has access to it, and how it will be used in the future.

methodsWe focus on the German "Corona-Warn-App" and support our argument with empirical data from 19 expert interviews conducted between 2020 and 2021. The interviews were conducted using a semistructured questionnaire and analyzed according to the principles of grounded theory.

resultsOur data underscores 3 dimensions: transparency, data sovereignty, and the east-west divide. While transparency is considered an essential foundation for establishing trust in the use of DCT by providing a sense of security, data sovereignty is seen as a high value during the pandemic, protecting users from an undesired loss of control. The aspect of the east-west divide highlights the idea of incorporating sociocultural values and standards into technology, emphasizing that algorithms and data-driven elements, such as distance indicators, encounters, and isolations, are also influenced by sociocultural factors.

conclusionsThe effective use of DCT for pandemic containment relies on achieving a balance between individual control and technological prevention. Maximizing the technological benefits of these tools is crucial. However, users must also be mindful of the information they share and maintain control over their shared data.

Indexed as

COVID-19Mobile ApplicationsContact TracingGermanyGrounded TheoryHumansPandemicsQualitative ResearchCorona-Warn-AppCOVID-19 pandemiceHealthGermanyhealth technologymobile phonequalitative researchsovereigntytransparency

Identifiers

PMID37862068
PMCPMC10625078

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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.