Improving adherence to ‘test, trace and isolate’

Rubin, G. James; Smith, Louise; Melendez‐Torres, G. J.; Yardley, Lucy

doi:10.1177/0141076820956824

Cited by 29 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…1 Its success relies on adherence to multiple behaviours. 8 Our data suggest that self-reported rates of full adherence to isolating and testing are low, as are rates of recognition of the main symptoms of covid-19. Rates of intended isolation and testing are higher.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“… 6 7 From when an infected person develops symptoms to when their contacts are allowed to come out of quarantine, adherence might break down at multiple stages. 8 In the UK, knowledge of the symptoms of covid-19 has been shown to be poor. 9 10 Financial constraints and cramped accommodation have been identified as factors that affect whether people will remain at home during the pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adherence to the test, trace, and isolate system in the UK: results from 37 nationally representative surveys

Smith

Potts

Amlôt

et al. 2021

BMJ

Self Cite

216

259

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Objective To investigate rates of adherence to the UK’s test, trace, and isolate system over the initial 11 months of the covid-19 pandemic. Design Series of cross sectional online surveys. Setting 37 nationally representative surveys in the UK, 2 March 2020 to 27 January 2021. Participants 74 697 responses from 53 880 people living in the UK, aged 16 years or older (37 survey waves, about 2000 participants in each wave). Main outcome measures Identification of the main symptoms of covid-19 (cough, high temperature or fever, and loss of sense of smell or taste), self-reported adherence to self-isolation if symptoms were present and intention to self-isolate if symptoms were to develop, requesting a test for covid-19 if symptoms were present and intention to request a test if symptoms were to develop, and intention to share details of close contacts. Results Only 51.5% of participants (95% confidence interval 51.0% to 51.9%, n=26 030/50 570) identified the main symptoms of covid-19; the corresponding values in the most recent wave of data collection (25-27 January 2021) were 50.8% (48.6% to 53.0%, n=1019/2007). Across all waves, duration adjusted adherence to full self-isolation was 42.5% (95% confidence interval 39.7% to 45.2%, n=515/1213); in the most recent wave of data collection (25-27 January 2021), it was 51.8% (40.8% to 62.8%, n=43/83). Across all waves, requesting a test for covid-19 was 18.0% (95% confidence interval 16.6% to 19.3%, n=552/3068), increasing to 22.2% (14.6% to 29.9%, n=26/117) from 25 to 27 January. Across all waves, intention to share details of close contacts was 79.1% (95% confidence interval 78.8% to 79.5%, n=36 145/45 680), increasing to 81.9% (80.1% to 83.6%, n=1547/1890) from 25 to 27 January. Non-adherence was associated with being male, younger age, having a dependent child in the household, lower socioeconomic grade, greater financial hardship during the pandemic, and working in a key sector. Conclusions Levels of adherence to test, trace, and isolate are low, although some improvement has occurred over time. Practical support and financial reimbursement are likely to improve adherence. Targeting messaging and policies to men, younger age groups, and key workers might also be necessary.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adherence to the test, trace, and isolate system in the UK: results from 37 nationally representative surveys

Smith

Potts

Amlôt

et al. 2021

BMJ

Self Cite

216

259

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Among the most difficult of these non-pharmaceutical interventions is self-isolation, with UK surveys estimating that less than 20% of those required reported doing so for the full 10-14 days 1 (3,6,7,8,9). To ensure that people follow COVID-19 measures, police enforcement and fines for failure of self-isolation have been employed (11,12).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the absence of safe and effective vaccines or drugs, communities all over the world depend heavily on behavioural measures, such as physical distancing, curtailing of social gatherings, face coverings, and regular hand-washing to contain the spread of COVID-19 and prevent their healthcare systems being overwhelmed (1). Such measures have been frequently used to reduce the risk of infectious diseases spreading in previous pandemics (2, 3), and there is evidence already that they are helping contain the COVID-19 pandemic (4, 5). Among the most difficult of these non-pharmaceutical interventions is self-isolation, with UK surveys estimating that less than 20% of those required reported doing so for the full 10-14 days 1 (3, 6, 7, 8, 9).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such measures have been frequently used to reduce the risk of infectious diseases spreading in previous pandemics (2, 3), and there is evidence already that they are helping contain the COVID-19 pandemic (4, 5). Among the most difficult of these non-pharmaceutical interventions is self-isolation, with UK surveys estimating that less than 20% of those required reported doing so for the full 10-14 days 1 (3, 6, 7, 8, 9). To ensure that people follow COVID-19 measures, police enforcement and fines for failure of self-isolation have been employed (11, 12).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What have we learned so far about COVID-19 volunteering in the UK? A rapid review of the literature

Mao

Fernandes‐Jesus

Ntontis

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BackgroundCommunity engagement and volunteering are essential for the public response to COVID-19. Since March 2020 a large number of people in the UK have been regularly doing unpaid activities to benefit others besides their close relatives. Although most mutual aid groups emerged from local neighbourhoods and communities, official public institutions also fostered community volunteering, namely through the community champions scheme. By considering a broad definition of COVID-19 volunteering, this article describes a systematic review of the literature focused on two broad questions: What have we learned so far from COVID-19 volunteering both at the UK national level and the more local community level? What have we learned from engagement with local communities and community champions during the COVID-19 period?MethodsA rapid review of the literature in peer-reviewed databases and grey literature was applied in our search, following the PRISMA principles. The search was conducted from 10 to 16 of October 2020, and sources were included on the basis of having been published between January and October 2020, focusing on COVID-19 and addressing community groups, volunteering groups, volunteers, or community champions in the UK.ResultsAfter initial screening, a total of 40 relevant sources were identified. From these, 28 were considered eligible. Findings suggest that food shopping and emotional support were the most common activities, but there were diverse models of organisation and coordination in COVID-19 volunteering. Additionally, community support groups seem to be adjusting their activities and scope of action to current needs and challenges. Volunteers were mostly women, middle-class, highly educated, and working-age people. Social networks and connections, local knowledge, and social trust were key dimensions associated with community organising and volunteering. Furthermore, despite the efforts of a few official public institutions and councils, there has been limited community engagement and collaboration with volunteering groups and other community-based organisations.ConclusionsWe identified important factors for fostering community engagement and COVID volunteering as well as gaps in the current literature. We suggest that future research should be directed towards deepening knowledge on sustaining community engagement, collaboration and community participation over time, during and beyond this pandemic.

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The impact of contact tracing and testing on controlling COVID-19 outbreak without lockdown in Hong Kong: An observational study

Yuan

Blakemore

2022

The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific

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Background Maintaining effective contact tracing to control COVID-19 is challenging. Rapid growth in the number of infected cases can overload tracing and testing capacity, resulting in failure to trace contacts and delays in confirming an infection until after symptom onset (confirmation delay), hence increasing transmissibility. A substantial outbreak in Hong Kong, which was suppressed with non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), provided an opportunity to assess the impact of overloading contact tracing and of efforts to improve its efficiency. Methods Using epidemiological-link (epi-link) data, we calculated the probability and duration of confirmation delay for cases with and without an epi-link, among all 3,148 confirmed cases between 5 July and 15 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to determine the relationship between the number of recently confirmed infections and the probability of confirmation delay for epi-linked (contact-traced) cases. We estimated the impact on this relationship of targeted testing of at-risk groups. Findings The probability and duration of confirmation delay were associated with the rise in daily case number during growth of the outbreak. The proportion with confirmation delay among contact-traced cases increased from about to nearly as the number of cases grew from 1 to 50 per day (p-value = 0.003). The subsequent introduction of testing services for at-risk groups substantially reduced the proportion and it did not approach again until the daily number of cases exceeded 125. This 2.5-fold improvement in capacity contributed crucially to suppression of the outbreak. Interpretation The number of recently confirmed infections is an indicator of the load on the contact-tracing system, the consequence of which can be assessed by the probability of confirmation delay. Measures to monitor and improve contact-tracing efficiency, alongside social distancing interventions, can enable outbreaks to be controlled without lockdown. Funding City University of Hong Kong and Health and Medical Research Fund.

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Improving adherence to ‘test, trace and isolate’

Cited by 29 publications

References 12 publications

Adherence to the test, trace, and isolate system in the UK: results from 37 nationally representative surveys

Adherence to the test, trace, and isolate system in the UK: results from 37 nationally representative surveys

What have we learned so far about COVID-19 volunteering in the UK? A rapid review of the literature

The impact of contact tracing and testing on controlling COVID-19 outbreak without lockdown in Hong Kong: An observational study

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