Research Article | | Peer-Reviewed

Developing a Novel Contact Tracing Mobile Application for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for Improving Testing Capacity and Controlling the Spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria

Received: 27 August 2024     Accepted: 21 September 2024     Published: 18 October 2024
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

In this study, a novel contact tracing model that leverages smartphone technology to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and extend the duration of contact tracing efforts is developed. This model utilizes smartphones as identification systems, collecting data on the proximity of other smartphone users through integrated Bluetooth and GPS technology. The study examines the frequency, duration, and proximity of interactions between smartphone devices in a clinical setting, highlighting potential implications for infectious disease transmission to pilot the mobile application developed. Contact data from six pairs of devices were analyzed, focusing on metrics such as total contacts, total contact time, average contact time, average distance, and the percentage of contacts occurring within 1.5 meters. The results showed varying levels of interaction across device pairs, with Devices 1 & 3 showing the highest number of contacts (175), and Devices 3 & 4 displaying the longest average contact time (20,133,193.01 seconds). Correlation analysis revealed weak and statistically insignificant relationships between total contacts and average distance (r = 0.13, p = 0.81), contact time and the percentage of close contacts (r = -0.15, p = 0.78). These findings suggest that while there are observable trends in contact patterns, the statistical insignificance highlights the need for further investigation to establish stronger associations that could inform infection control practices in healthcare settings.

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 12, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjph.20241205.13
Page(s) 169-177
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Contact Tracing, Smartphone Technology, Bluetooth and GPS, Infectious Disease Transmission, Correlation Analysis

References
[1] World Health Organization. Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it; 2020. Available from:
[2] Ekong I, Chukwu E, Chukwu M. COVID-19 Mobile Positioning Data Contact Tracing and Patient Privacy Regulations: Exploratory Search of Global Response Strategies and the Use of Digital Tools in Nigeria. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2020; 8(4): e19139.
[3] Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria: Situation report (116); 2020.
[4] Roser R., Ritchie, H., Ortiz-Ospina, E. and Hasell, J. “Nigeria: Coronavirus Pandemic Country Profile,” Our World in Data, 2023. [Online]. Available:
[5] Carraggi MP. MA to launch first coronavirus contact tracing program in US; 2020. Available from:
[6] Rafalski EM. Health insurance portability and accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Encyclopedia of Health Services Research 1996.
[7] Zhang O. Inside China's smartphone 'health code' system ruling post-coronavirus life; 2020. Associated Press/Time: Available from:
[8] Pollina E, Busvine D. European mobile operators share data for coronavirus fight. Reuters; 2020. Available from:
[9] Choudhury SR. Singapore says it will make its contact tracing tech freely available to developers. CNBC; 2020. Available from:
[10] Woods A. CDC to launch new surveillance system to track coronavirus spread. New York Post; 2020. Available from:
[11] World Health Organization. 2020 Apr 03. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Situation Report - 74 URL:
[12] Bell D, Nicoll A, Fukuda K, Horby P, Monto A, et al. Non-pharmaceutical interventions for pandemic influenza, national and community measures. World Health Organization Writing Group; Emerg Infect Dis; 2006.
[13] Luca F, Chris W, Michelle K, Lele Z, Anel Nurtay et al. Quantifying SARS-CoV-2 transmission suggests epidemic control with digital contact tracing. Science; 2020.
[14] Van Elsland SL, O'Hare R. Coronavirus pandemic could have caused 40 million deaths if left unchecked: Imperial College London; 2020. Available from:
[15] Statista; 27 2020. Available from:
[16] Dimagi.com. Digital solution for COVID-19 response; 2020. Available from:
[17] Robin Muccari. NBC News, Apple/ Google; 2020. Available from:
[18] Shibasaki R. International Telecommunication Union. 2017. [2020-03-20]. Call detail record (CDR) analysis: Sierra Leone
[19] Islam, M. Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in the Time of COVID-19—How has the Landscape Changed for Pakistan? Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 2020; 14(4).
[20] Hasan T, Nguyen VN, Nguyen HB, Nguyen TA, Le HTT, Pham CD, et al. Retrospective Cohort Study of Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Tuberculosis Notifications, Vietnam, 2020. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022; 28(3): 684-92.
[21] Migliori GB, Visca D, van den Boom M, Tiberi S, Silva DR, Centis R, et al. Tuberculosis, COVID-19 and hospital admission: consensus on pros and cons based on a review of the evidence. Pulmonology. 2021; 27(3): 248-56.
[22] Suresh K. S., Shiv K. M., Kalpana T. and Rakhi G. How to cal-culate sample size for observational and experimental nursing research studies? National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology 2020; 10 (1), 1-8.
[23] Almagor, J., Picascia, S. Exploring the effectiveness of a COVID-19 contact tracing app using an agent-based model. Sci Rep 10, 22235 (2020).
[24] Yasaka T. M., Lehrich B. M., Sahyouni R. Peer-to-Peer Contact Tracing: Development of a Privacy Preserving Smartphone App. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2020; 8(4): e18936
[25] Olsen M., Lohning A., Campos M., Jones P., McKirdy S., Alghafri R., et al., Mobile phones of paediatric hospital staff are never cleaned and commonly used in toilets with implications for healthcare nosocomial diseases, Sci. Rep. 11(1), 12999; 2021.
[26] Lindsley J. A., Reynolds C. D., Williams T., Underwood J., Ingram A. N., Jowitt J., et al., How dirty is your phone? Evaluating restroom behavior and cell phone surface contamination, Joint Comm. J. Qual. Patient Saf. 46 (10) 588–590; 2020.
[27] Chao Foong Y., Green M., Zargari A., Siddique R., Tan V., Brain T., et al., Mobile phones as a potential vehicle of infection in a hospital setting, J. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 12 (10) D232–D235; 2015.
[28] Kirkland K. B., Weinstein J. M. Adverse effects of contact isolation. Lancet. 1999 Oct 2; 354(9185): 1177-8.
[29] Evans H. L., Shaffer M. M., Hughes M. G., Smith R. L., Chong T. W., Raymond D. P., Pelletier S. J., Pruett T. L., Sawyer R. G. Contact isolation in surgical patients: a barrier to care? Surgery. 2003 Aug; 134(2): 180-8.
[30] Delgado-Rodríguez M, Bueno-Cavanillas A, López-Gigosos R, de Dios Luna-Castillo J, Guillén-Solvas J, Moreno-Abril O, Rodríguez-Tuñas B, Cueto-Espinar A, Rodríguez-Contreras R, Gálvez-Vargas R, et al. Hospital stay length as an effect modifier of other risk factors for nosocomial infection. Eur J Epidemiol. 1990 Mar; 6(1): 34-9.
[31] Tess BH, Glenister HM, Rodrigues LC, Wagner MB. Incidence of hospital-acquired infection and length of hospital stay. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 1993 Feb; 12(2): 81-6.
[32] Leung, N. H. L., Chu, D. K. W., Shiu, E. Y. C., Chan, K., McDevitt, J. J., Hau, B. J. P. et al. Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks. Nature Medicine; 2020, 26, 676-680.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Musa, A. Z., Osuolale, K. A., Salako, A. O., Ifeta, A. T., Salako, B. L. (2024). Developing a Novel Contact Tracing Mobile Application for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for Improving Testing Capacity and Controlling the Spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria. Science Journal of Public Health, 12(5), 169-177. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20241205.13

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Musa, A. Z.; Osuolale, K. A.; Salako, A. O.; Ifeta, A. T.; Salako, B. L. Developing a Novel Contact Tracing Mobile Application for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for Improving Testing Capacity and Controlling the Spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria. Sci. J. Public Health 2024, 12(5), 169-177. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20241205.13

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Musa AZ, Osuolale KA, Salako AO, Ifeta AT, Salako BL. Developing a Novel Contact Tracing Mobile Application for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for Improving Testing Capacity and Controlling the Spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria. Sci J Public Health. 2024;12(5):169-177. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20241205.13

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.sjph.20241205.13,
      author = {Adesola Zaidat Musa and Kazeem Adewale Osuolale and Abideen Olurotimi Salako and Adekunle Temu Ifeta and Babatunde Lawal Salako},
      title = {Developing a Novel Contact Tracing Mobile Application for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for Improving Testing Capacity and Controlling the Spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria
    },
      journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {12},
      number = {5},
      pages = {169-177},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20241205.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20241205.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20241205.13},
      abstract = {In this study, a novel contact tracing model that leverages smartphone technology to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and extend the duration of contact tracing efforts is developed. This model utilizes smartphones as identification systems, collecting data on the proximity of other smartphone users through integrated Bluetooth and GPS technology. The study examines the frequency, duration, and proximity of interactions between smartphone devices in a clinical setting, highlighting potential implications for infectious disease transmission to pilot the mobile application developed. Contact data from six pairs of devices were analyzed, focusing on metrics such as total contacts, total contact time, average contact time, average distance, and the percentage of contacts occurring within 1.5 meters. The results showed varying levels of interaction across device pairs, with Devices 1 & 3 showing the highest number of contacts (175), and Devices 3 & 4 displaying the longest average contact time (20,133,193.01 seconds). Correlation analysis revealed weak and statistically insignificant relationships between total contacts and average distance (r = 0.13, p = 0.81), contact time and the percentage of close contacts (r = -0.15, p = 0.78). These findings suggest that while there are observable trends in contact patterns, the statistical insignificance highlights the need for further investigation to establish stronger associations that could inform infection control practices in healthcare settings.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Developing a Novel Contact Tracing Mobile Application for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for Improving Testing Capacity and Controlling the Spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria
    
    AU  - Adesola Zaidat Musa
    AU  - Kazeem Adewale Osuolale
    AU  - Abideen Olurotimi Salako
    AU  - Adekunle Temu Ifeta
    AU  - Babatunde Lawal Salako
    Y1  - 2024/10/18
    PY  - 2024
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20241205.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.sjph.20241205.13
    T2  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JF  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JO  - Science Journal of Public Health
    SP  - 169
    EP  - 177
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7950
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20241205.13
    AB  - In this study, a novel contact tracing model that leverages smartphone technology to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and extend the duration of contact tracing efforts is developed. This model utilizes smartphones as identification systems, collecting data on the proximity of other smartphone users through integrated Bluetooth and GPS technology. The study examines the frequency, duration, and proximity of interactions between smartphone devices in a clinical setting, highlighting potential implications for infectious disease transmission to pilot the mobile application developed. Contact data from six pairs of devices were analyzed, focusing on metrics such as total contacts, total contact time, average contact time, average distance, and the percentage of contacts occurring within 1.5 meters. The results showed varying levels of interaction across device pairs, with Devices 1 & 3 showing the highest number of contacts (175), and Devices 3 & 4 displaying the longest average contact time (20,133,193.01 seconds). Correlation analysis revealed weak and statistically insignificant relationships between total contacts and average distance (r = 0.13, p = 0.81), contact time and the percentage of close contacts (r = -0.15, p = 0.78). These findings suggest that while there are observable trends in contact patterns, the statistical insignificance highlights the need for further investigation to establish stronger associations that could inform infection control practices in healthcare settings.
    
    VL  - 12
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Sections