Tracing Covid-19 -- Older Adults' Attitudes Toward Digital Contact Tracing and How to Increase Their Participation

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic poses major challenges for health care systems. Contact tracing apps are being used around the world to help track and break the chain of infection. We conducted a qualitative study with eight older adults (65+) to find out how their lives have been affected by the pandemic. One of the topics covered was the “Stopp Corona” app, a contact tracing app by the national Red Cross and participants’ attitude towards it. Despite the fact that most participants did not use the app, they expressed little concerns about the misuse of data as they have high trust in the Red Cross and the national government. Highlighting the societal benefit of contact tracing seems to be a major factor for uptake. Based on our results in comparison with recent studies on digital contact tracing, we suggest four recommendations that may support adoption of contact tracing apps by older adults.