Table 5.
Policy recommendations to improve contact tracing compliance in communities of color.
| Policy Recommendation | Supporting Results |
|---|---|
| 1. Build trust in CT by clearly detailing the motives and authority of CT, confidentiality of the information gathered, necessity of tracing to limit disease spread, and validity of the information/guidance provided. |
SEM results identify trust as an antecedent of willingness to comply with CT requests. Qualitative results identify these strategies as likely to increase trust and compliance. |
| 2. Involve healthcare professionals and government health officials in the process of building trust in contact tracers. Recognize, however, that government health officials may be more effective for increasing trust for Whites relative to communities of color. |
SEM mediation results identify trust in healthcare providers and government health officials as significant predictors of willingness to comply by increasing trust in CT. Yet, the indirect effect of government health officials is significantly stronger for the White sample than for the Black, AAPI, or Latinx samples. This is not the case for healthcare providers; indirect effects are similar across groups. |
| 3. Maintain and clearly communicate the separation of CT from government authorities, particularly law enforcement and immigration agencies. |
SEM results suggest that lower trust in the government would indirectly reduce CT compliance. Qualitative results reveal that many respondents mistakenly believed that CT could share their information with law enforcement agencies. |
| 4. Target knowledge-based interventions on potential sources of mistrust in CT to debunk misinformation (see Lewandowsky et al., 2012). |
SEM results suggest that CT knowledge and health literacy play a more limited role as predictors of willingness to comply with tracing requests. Knowledge test and qualitative results suggest people generally understand CT basics, but some ignorance persists that may erode trust. |
| 5. Ensure CT have the skills and knowledge needed to communicate clearly and respectfully. This can be aided by effective personnel selection and training. |
Survey respondents indicated that they would be more willing to trust and comply with contact tracers if they were respectful, compassionate, clear, and knowledgeable. |
| 6. Researchers and policymakers should consider the nuanced effects of race in data collection and analysis to inform more targeted recommendations. | Collapsing all respondents into one category without considering the effects of race would have produced different conclusions than we obtained with multi-group analysis. |
Note. CT = contact tracing.