key: cord-0892487-qftq7pjs authors: Ishimaru, T.; Ibayashi, K.; Nagata, M.; Hino, A.; Tateishi, S.; Tsuji, M.; Ogami, A.; Matsuda, S.; Fujino, Y. title: Industry and workplace characteristics associated with the use of a COVID-19 contact tracing app in Japan: a nation-wide employee survey date: 2021-04-07 journal: nan DOI: 10.1101/2021.04.01.21254744 sha: 3ab597522a8620438d2b7a59999c47bf76a8a169 doc_id: 892487 cord_uid: qftq7pjs Objectives: To combat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many countries have used contact tracing apps, including Japan's voluntary-use contact-confirming application (COCOA). The current study aimed to identify industry and workplace characteristics associated with the use of this COVID-19 contact tracing app. Methods: This cross-sectional study of full-time workers used an online survey. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations of industry and workplace characteristics with contact tracing app use. Results: Of the 27,036 participants, 25.1% had downloaded the COCOA. Workers in the public service (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14-1.45) and information technology (aOR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.20-1.58) industries were more likely to use the app than were those in the manufacturing industry. In contrast, app usage was less common among workers in the retail and wholesale (aOR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.76-0.99) and food/beverage (aOR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.70-0.94) industries, but further adjustment for business size attenuated these associations. Workers at larger companies were more likely to use the app. Compared with permanent employees, the odds of using the app were higher for managers and civil servants but lower for those who were self-employed. Conclusions: One possible reason for the under-implementation of the contact tracing app in the retail and wholesale and food/beverage industries is small business size, as suggested by the fully adjusted model results. An awareness campaign should be conducted to promote the widespread use of the contact tracing app in these industries. the public service (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 48 1.14-1.45) and information technology (aOR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.20-1.58) industries 49 were more likely to use the app than were those in the manufacturing industry. In 50 contrast, app usage was less common among workers in the retail and wholesale 51 (aOR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.76-0.99) and food/beverage (aOR = 0.81, 95% CI: 52 0.70-0.94) industries, but further adjustment for business size attenuated these 53 associations. Workers at larger companies were more likely to use the app. 54 Compared with permanent employees, the odds of using the app were higher for 55 managers and civil servants but lower for those who were self-employed. Panelists who had registered with an online research company and who were currently 112 working full-time were invited to participate in the survey. Health care workers and 113 . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. (which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted April 7, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.01.21254744 doi: medRxiv preprint caregivers were not invited to participate. We selected 33,087 participants through 114 cluster sampling stratified by sex, region, and job type. We excluded invalid responses, 115 leaving data on 27,036 participants for analysis. When the baseline survey was 116 conducted, the numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths were much higher than 117 they had been during the first and second waves of the disease in Japan; therefore, 118 Japan was on maximum alert during this third wave. This study was approved by the 138 . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted April 7, 2021. half of the participants were women (48.9%), and about half were married (55.6%). The most frequently observed category for annual household income was 4-8 million 159 JPY (44.1%; USD 1 = JPY 106.78 as of 2020). 12 Excluding the "other" industry 160 category, manufacturing accounted for the largest percentage of the sample (17.0%), 161 followed by medical and welfare (16.6%) and public service (7.0%). Establishments 162 with 50-999 employees (35.9%) and permanent employee (46.5%) were the most 163 . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted April 7, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.01.21254744 doi: medRxiv preprint frequently observed business size and occupation categories, respectively. The current study identified that working in the public service sector, in the information We found that the contact tracing app was frequently used by civil servants and 212 managers. This finding implies that civil servants and managers might follow requests 213 . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted April 7, 2021. This study has several limitations. First, the study recruited panelists who registered 236 with an online research company. Therefore, the participants may not represent 237 general workers. For example, online panelists may be particularly willing to use 238 . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted April 7, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.01.21254744 doi: medRxiv preprint online tools or more familiar than others with using apps. Consequently, the results 239 may underestimate negative factors for use of the app. Second, we evaluated the use 240 of the contact tracing app by asking participants about whether they had downloaded 241 it. Therefore, we did not confirm whether the application was installed. However, we 242 think that most people who downloaded the app also installed it. Despite these 243 limitations, to the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first study in Japan 244 to examine current use of the COCOA with a large sample. is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted April 7, 2021. . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted April 7, 2021. Model 3: Adjusted for sex, age, income, marital status, education, smoking, alcohol intake, anxiety about contracting COVID-19, type of industry, 347 and business size 348 * The occupation variables were not included in Model 3 because of the high correlations between the occupation of civil servant and the public 349 service industry and between self-employed occupation and business size of 1-9 employees. is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted April 7, 2021. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Japan Standard Industrial 314 Classification Workplace measures against COVID-19 322 during the winter third wave in Japan: company size-based differences A review of the literature on preventive occupational health 325 and safety activities in small enterprises Uncertainty risks and strategic reaction of restaurant firms 327 amid COVID-19: Evidence from China A population-based controlled 330 experiment assessing the epidemiological impact of digital contact tracing