Industry and workplace characteristics associated with the downloading of a COVID-19 contact tracing app in Japan: a nation-wide cross-sectional study.
BACKGROUND
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 downloading 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 company 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
Downloading of COCOA among Japanese workers was insufficient; thus, the mitigating effect of COCOA on the COVID-19 pandemic is considered to be limited. One possible reason for the under-implementation of the contact tracing app in the retail and wholesale and food/beverage industries is small company 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.
['Ishimaru|Tomohiro|T|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9334-1423', 'Ibayashi|Koki|K|', 'Nagata|Masako|M|', 'Hino|Ayako|A|', 'Tateishi|Seiichiro|S|', 'Tsuji|Mayumi|M|', 'Ogami|Akira|A|', 'Matsuda|Shinya|S|', 'Fujino|Yoshihisa|Y|', '|||']
D000328:Adult D000086382:COVID-19 D016358:Contact Tracing D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007221:Industry D007564:Japan D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D063731:Mobile Applications D000086402:SARS-CoV-2 D000068997:Smartphone D017132:Workplace
COVID-19 Contact tracing SARS-CoV-2 Smartphone Worksite