Accepted for/Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Date Submitted: May 10, 2023
Date Accepted: Dec 6, 2023
Date Submitted to PubMed: Dec 12, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Investigating Citizens’ Acceptance of Contact Tracing Apps: Examining the Role of Trust and Privacy
ABSTRACT
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for understanding citizen acceptance of health surveillance technologies such as contact tracing (CT) apps. Indeed, the success of these apps requires widespread public acceptance and the alleviation of concerns around privacy, surveillance, and trust.
Objective:
This study examines the factors which foster a sense of trust and a perception of privacy in CT apps. Our study also investigates how trust and perceived privacy influence citizens’ willingness to adopt, disclose personal data, and continue to use these apps.
Methods:
Drawing on privacy calculus and procedural fairness theories, we develop a model of the antecedents and behavioral intentions related to trust and privacy perceptions. We used structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses on a dataset collected at two time points (prior to and post launch of a national CT app). The sample consisted of 405 Irish residents.
Results:
Trust in CT apps was positively influenced by propensity to trust technology (β .078, P = .006), perceived need for surveillance (β .112, P < .001), perceptions of government motives (β .679, P < .001), and negatively by perceived invasion (β -.224, P < .001). Perceived privacy was positively influenced by trust (β .465, P < .001), and perceived control (β .453, P < .001), and negatively by perceived invasion (β -.164, P < .001). Pre-launch intentions towards adoption and disclosure were influenced by trust (β .590, P < .001), and perceived privacy (β .248, P < .001), whereas post-launch intentions were directly influenced by pre-launch intentions (β .530, P < .001), and indirectly by trust and perceived privacy.
Conclusions:
Positive perceptions of trust and privacy can be fostered through clear communication regarding the need and motives for CT apps, the level of control citizens maintain, and measures to limit invasive data practices. By engendering these positive beliefs prior to launch and reinforcing them post-launch, citizens may be more likely to accept and use CT apps.
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Copyright
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