Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Mental Health
Date Submitted: Aug 26, 2020
Date Accepted: Dec 3, 2020
Date Submitted to PubMed: Dec 21, 2020
Downloading a government-issued COVID-19 contact tracing app may improve psychological distress in the outbreak among employed adults: a prospective study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The use of a COVID-19 contact tracing app may be effective in reducing anxiety about COVID-19 and psychological distress of users.
Objective:
This 2.5-month prospective study aimed to investigate the association of the use of a COVID-19 contact tracing app, the COVID-19 Contact Confirming Application (COCOA), released by the Japanese government with fear and worry about COVID-19 and psychological distress in a sample of the general working population of Japan.
Methods:
A total of 996 full-time employed respondents to an online survey on May 22-26, 2020 (baseline) were invited to participate in a follow-up survey on August 7-12, 2020 (follow-up). High level of worrying about COVID-19 and high psychological distress were defined by scores on a single-item scale and the K6 scale, respectively, both at baseline and follow-up. The app was released between the two surveys on June 17. Participants were asked at follow-up if they downloaded the app.
Results:
A total of 902 (90.6%) out of 996 baseline participants responded to the follow-up survey. Among them, 184 (20.4%) reported that they downloaded the app. The use of the contact tracing app was significantly negatively associated with psychological distress, but not with fear and worry about COVID-19, at follow-up after controlling for baseline variables.
Conclusions:
The study provided first evidence that a COVID-19 contact tracing app is beneficial for the mental health of people under the COVID-19 outbreak. Clinical Trial: N/A
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