Suchergebnisse

ObjectivesElectronic health records (German: elektronische Patientenakte - ePA) are an important healthcare tool. However, in Germany, current participation remains low for their national ePA. To rectify this, the German government recently adopted an opt-out approach to their national ePA system. The objective of this study is to investigate and provide a brief overview of German public attitudes towards this approach to inform policymakers with evidence-based insights.MethodsFour public focus groups were conducted with 12 German citizens to discuss their opinions on the German governments new opt-out approach to the ePA.ResultsThree major thematic categories were identified (Contributors to Opt-Out Implementation, Barriers to Opt-Out Implementation, and Contingent Factors) to describe citizen views on the opt-out approach for the ePA.ConclusionThe public is generally supportive of an opt-out approach to ePAs in Germany, as they see the benefits ePAs can provide to German society; but they are skeptical on how successful this approach might be due to extant issues that policymakers must be aware of in order to successfully implement an opt-out approach for Germany's national ePA system.

BACKGROUND Widespread vaccination uptake has been shown to be crucial in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences on healthcare infrastructures. Infection numbers, hospitalisation rates and mortality can be mitigated if large parts of the population are being vaccinated. However, one year after the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines, a substantial share of the Swiss population still refrains from being vaccinated. OBJECTIVES We analysed COVID-19 vaccination uptake during the first 12 months of vaccine availability. We compared vaccination rates of different socioeconomic subgroups (e.g., education, income, migration background) and regions (urban vs rural, language region) and investigated associations between uptake and individual traits such as health literacy, adherence to COVID-19 prevention measures and trust in government or science. METHODS Our analysis was based on self-reported vaccination uptake of a longitudinal online panel of Swiss adults aged 18 to 79 (the "COVID-19 Social Monitor", analysis sample n = 2448). The panel is representative for Switzerland with regard to age, gender, and language regions. Participants have been periodically surveyed about various public health issues from 30 March 2020, to 16 December 2021. We report uptake rates and age-stratified hazard ratios (HRs) by population subgroups without and with additional covariate adjustment using Cox regression survival analysis. RESULTS Higher uptake rates were found for individuals with more than just compulsory schooling (secondary: unadjusted HR 1.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10-1.76; tertiary: HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.52-2.47), household income above CHF 4999 (5000-9999: unadj. HR 1.42, 95% CI 1.25-1.61; ≥10,000 HR 1.99, 95% CI 1.72-2.30), those suffering from a chronic condition (unadj. HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.25-1.53), and for individuals with a sufficient or excellent level of health literacy (sufficient: unadj. HR 1.13, 95% CI 0.98-1.29; excellent: HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.10-1.34). We found lower rates for residents of rural regions (unadj. HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.70-0.88), those showing less adherence to COVID-19 prevention measures, and those with less trust in government or science. CONCLUSIONS Vaccination uptake is multifactorial and influenced by sociodemographic status, health literacy, trust in institutions and expected risk of severe COVID-19 illness. Fears of unwanted vaccine effects and doubts regarding vaccine effectiveness appear to drive uptake hesitancy and demand special attention in future vaccination campaigns.

Background: Digital proximity tracing apps have been released to mitigate the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus known to cause COVID-19. However, it remains unclear how the acceptance and uptake of these apps can be improved. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the coverage of the Swiss Covid app and the reasons for its nonuse in Switzerland during a period of increasing incidence of COVID-19 cases. Methods: We collected data between September 28 and October 8, 2020, via a nationwide online panel survey (COVID-19Social Monitor, N=1511). We examined sociodemographic and behavioral factors associated with app use by using multivariable logistic regression, whereas reasons for app nonuse were analyzed descriptively. Results: Overall, 46.5% (703/1511) of the survey participants reported they used the Swiss Covid app, which was an increase from 43.9% (662/1508) reported in the previous study wave conducted in July 2020. A higher monthly household income (ie, income >CHF 10,000 or >US $11,000 vs income ≤CHF 6000 or

In the wake of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), contact tracing has become a key element of strategies to control the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Given the rapid and intense spread of SARS-CoV-2, digital contact tracing has emerged as a potential complementary tool to support containment and mitigation efforts. Early modelling studies highlighted the potential of digital contact tracing to break transmission chains, and Google and Apple subsequently developed the Exposure Notification (EN) framework, making it available to the vast majority of smartphones. A growing number of governments have launched or announced EN-based contact tracing apps, but their effectiveness remains unknown. Here, we report early findings of the digital contact tracing app deployment in Switzerland. We demonstrate proof-of-principle that digital contact tracing reaches exposed contacts, who then test positive for SARS-CoV-2. This indicates that digital contact tracing is an effective complementary tool for controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Continued technical improvement and international compatibility can further increase the efficacy, particularly also across country borders. ; ISSN:1424-7860 ; ISSN:1424-3997

In the wake of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), contact tracing has become a key element of strategies to control the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Given the rapid and intense spread of SARS-CoV-2, digital contact tracing has emerged as a potential complementary tool to support containment and mitigation efforts. Early modelling studies highlighted the potential of digital contact tracing to break transmission chains, and Google and Apple subsequently developed the Exposure Notification (EN) framework, making it available to the vast majority of smartphones. A growing number of governments have launched or announced EN-based contact tracing apps, but their effectiveness remains unknown. Here, we report early findings of the digital contact tracing app deployment in Switzerland. We demonstrate proof-of-principle that digital contact tracing reaches exposed contacts, who then test positive for SARS-CoV-2. This indicates that digital contact tracing is an effective complementary tool for controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Continued technical improvement and international compatibility can further increase the efficacy, particularly also across country borders.

ObjectivesTo assess the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and self-reported adherence to preventive measures in Switzerland during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods4,299 participants from a digital cohort were followed between September 2020 and November 2021. Baseline equivalised disposable income and education were used as SES proxies. Adherence was assessed over time. We investigated the association between SES and adherence using multivariable mixed logistic regression, stratifying by age (below/above 65 years) and two periods (before/after June 2021, to account for changes in vaccine coverage and epidemiological situation).ResultsAdherence was high across all SES strata before June 2021. After, participants with higher equivalised disposable income were less likely to adhere to preventive measures compared to participants in the first (low) quartile [second (Adj.OR, 95% CI) (0.56, 0.37–0.85), third (0.38, 0.23–0.64), fourth (0.60, 0.36–0.98)]. We observed similar results for education.ConclusionNo differences by SES were found during the period with high SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates and stringent measures. Following the broad availability of vaccines, lower incidence, and eased measures, differences by SES started to emerge. Our study highlights the need for contextual interpretation when assessing SES impact on adherence to preventive measures.