JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, numerous countries, including the likes of Germany and Japan, initiated, developed and implemented open source software (OSS) contact tracing solutions in an effort to digitally detect and interrupt virus transmission chains. These initiatives indicated the willingness from both German and Japanese governments to support eHealth OSS solution development for public health, however, end user acceptance, trust and willingness to make use of the solutions delivered through these initiatives are critical to their success. Through a case-based analysis of OSS contact tracing solutions deployed in Germany and Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, we may gain valuable perspectives on the transnational role of digital technologies in crises, while also projecting future directions for OSS solutions in this field.

Objective:

The objective of this research is firstly, to identify and classify OSS contact tracing solutions implemented in Germany and Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, and secondly, to analyze the source code publication and management approaches taken by these OSS initiatives. This is done in order to identify current trends, while also informing recommendations for future pandemic technologies.

Methods:

By means of convenience sampling, we identify and classify 3 OSS solutions that were implemented and used for contact tracing purposes (for any length of time) during the timeframe 01.2021 - 12.2021, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in either Germany or Japan. The selected solutions include the COVID-19 Contact-Confirming Application (COCOA) deployed in Japan, the Corona-Warn App deployed in Germany and the Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS) deployed in Germany. Through a case-oriented comparative analysis, we subsequently identify the similarities and differences between the solutions’ source code publication and management approaches.

Results:

Initial results indicate a trend towards using GitHub as a platform to host open source software source code, in repositories distributed under a license that implies that the source code is available for modification (free of charge), containing ReadMe files with instructions for both the public (feature request) as well as the development community (feature contributions), in at least English.

Conclusions:

Open source platform choice, platform repository structure and community/ecosystem engagement are key elements to consider in open source solution development. Despite the open nature of OSS solution source code, public health solutions are only as transparent as the live (productive) environment where their processed data is hosted/stored. Software development and live software hosting are thus two sides of the same coin and should be considered equally important in both current and future OSS solution implementation strategies for public health, and beyond.