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Original Article Perceived usefulness of COVID-19 tools for contact tracing among contact tracers in Korea
Seonyeong Gong1,2orcid , Jong Youn Moon1,2,3orcid , Jaehun Jung1,2orcid
Epidemiol Health 2022;44e2022106-0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2022106
Published online: November 15, 2022
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1Department of Preventive Medicine, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea
2Artificial Intelligence and Big-Data Convergence Center, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea
3Center for Public Healthcare, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Korea
Corresponding author:  Jong Youn Moon,
Email: moonjy@gachon.ac.kr
Jaehun Jung,
Email: eastside1st@gmail.com
Received: 27 April 2022   • Accepted: 15 November 2022
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Abstract

OBJECTIVES
In Korea, contact tracing for coronavirus disease 2019 is conducted using information from credit card records, handwritten visitor logs, KI-Pass (QR code), and the Safe Call system after an interview. We investigated the usefulness of these tools for contact tracing.
METHODS
An anonymous survey was conducted for 2 months (July to September 2021) among contact tracers throughout Korea. The questionnaire consisted of 4 parts: (1) demographic characteristics; (2) the usefulness of each tool for contact tracing; (3) the order in which information was checked during contact tracing; and (4) the match rate between tools for contact tracing, screening test rate, response rate, and helpfulness (rated on a Likert scale).
RESULTS
In total, 190 individuals completed the survey. When asked to rate the usefulness of each tool for contact tracing on a Likert scale, most respondents (86.3%) provided positive responses for credit card records, while the most common responses for handwritten visitor logs were negative. The highest percentage of positive responses for helpfulness was found for KI-Pass (91.1%), followed in descending order by credit card records (82.6%), Safe Call (78.2%), and handwritten visitor logs (22.1%).
CONCLUSIONS
Over 80% of participants provided positive responses for credit card records, KI-Pass, and Safe Call data, while approximately 50% provided negative responses regarding the usefulness of handwritten visitor logs. Our findings highlight the need to unify systems for post-interview contact tracing to increase their convenience for contact tracers, as well as the need to improve tools utilizing handwritten visitor logs for digitally vulnerable groups.

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