Chapter 2
Review of Related Literature
This chapter presents the review of related literature and studies relevant to the
findings of the researchers. Moreover, the review comes in three parts, respectively (1)
Contact Tracing, (2) Technology/Applications and (3) Teenagers/Adolescence.
Contact Tracing
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19) as a Global Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on
the 30th day of January 2020. This declaration encourages all countries to prepare for
containment, which include active surveillance, early detection, isolation, case
management and contact tracing to prevent further spreading (Department of Health,
2020). City ordinances and other government acts from different local areas are
implemented for the safety of the people.
According to Mayo Clinic (2020), contact tracing is the process of detecting who
has recently been exposed to a virus-infected person, such as SARS-CoV-2 causing
COVID-19, and keeping in touch to let them know that they may have been exposed and
what to do next. As stated by Dr. Gregory Poland, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases
expert, "The whole idea, and this is really important in the beginning of an outbreak in
order to contain the outbreak, is to understand who's infected . . ., trace who might have
been exposed . . ., you can dramatically decrease the impact of an epidemic or pandemic."
On 13 March 2020, an Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) was announced
and was initially limited to the National Capital Region (NCR) since most international
airports are located in the said region. But, as more cases of community transmission
were recorded from the nearby provinces, a Luzon island-wide quarantine was
implemented by President Rodrigo R. Duterte effective March 17. Only transportation for
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essential services, including medical and sanitary goods, as allowed banning any land, sea
and air transportation. People were advised to work from home and use online
communications and business transactions to avoid gathering in workplaces. Contact
tracing can be a resolve for this. While several developers of mobile phone apps have
launched contact tracing apps such as the Philippine Red Cross, data collection and
reporting infrastructure will have to be there for this to be achieved (Vallejo & Ong,
2020).
Technology/Applications
As stated in the study of Li, J., & Guo, X. (2020), contact tracing apps became the
aid to address the increase of COVID-19 cases. But the deployment framework of apps
has become an issue. This issue then diverged to different technologies such as GPS, QR
codes, and Bluetooth. This work conducts the development of the said situations and
contributes a geolocation mapping of the current deployment. The contact tracing apps
are identified and focused on the Bluetooth-inspired decentralized paradigm.
Indicated in the study of Muhammad S., et al. (2021), the usage of QR codes is
another method of contact tracing where users will be manually contributing to the
database by capturing a visual computer-aided code at multiple places. Mobile phone
application automatically reads current location of these QR codes and specifies the
database with user details. If a person is tested positive, their contacts at visited places can
be identified using the same technology.
The study of Walrave, M., et al. (2020) stated that to reduce the increasing
numbers of COVID-19 cases, applications used for contact tracing have been developed.
It helps people trace the close contacts of people diagnosed with COVID-19 easily. The
contact tracing app’s effectiveness depends on the people who support it. Among the
1,500 participants 18 to 64 years old, 48.70 percent wanted to use the app. 39 percent of
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the variance in app use intention was explained by the Structural equation modeling.
Performance expectancy, then facilitating conditions, and social influence was the most
important predictor. Innovativeness of people was connected with app use intention,
while concerns regarding app-related privacy influenced the intention negatively.
Cho, H., Ippolito, D., & Yu, Y. W.’s (2020) study about “Contact Tracing Mobile
Apps for COVID-19: Privacy Considerations and Related Trade-offs” stated that, to fight
the spreading of COVID-19, health officials and local communities use contact tracing.
TraceTogether, the government of Singapore’s mobile app, helps in tracing down
exposures after identifying an infected individual. The privacy implications the app has
was analysed without affecting its usefulness to the public. Community efforts are
encouraged to develop alternative solutions that can help protect the privacy of the users.
Ahmed, N., Michelin, et al. (2020) articulated that, lockdowns and public health
care systems were forced and strained due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The virus is highly
infectious, and infected individuals may show symptoms or may be asymptomatic. The
government took action in making a mobile contact tracing app that can help trace the
people that may have been a close contact with an infected individual but tracing apps has
many issues about their key attributes, that includes data privacy, system architecture,
security, data management, and attack vulnerability. The study focused on the reviews of
the contact tracing apps and discuss the concerns of the individuals that use the app.
Outlining possible research about the next-generation app design will also be done to
improve the current situation of contact tracing apps.
According to Wiertz, C., Banerjee et al. (2020), the UK public has been adapting
to contact tracing apps. Implementation options can now impact the app adoption of
people. A choice-based conjoint study was conducted and realistic choice scenarios were
used to know the preferences of the people to stimulate the likely acceptance of a product.
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It helps in estimating the adoption rate of individuals using various app configurations.
Contact tracing apps should balance between maximizing uptake of the app and protect
the user's privacy at the same time. The estimated increase in adoption of this
configuration is likely by 2.4 percent.
The study of Li, T. et al. (2020) states that contact tracing apps benefit health
authorities to slow down the spread of COVID-19. But the effectiveness of the app is very
dependent on the installation rate that can influence the perceptions of an individual of the
utility of the contact tracing apps. A survey study was conducted to know the willingness
of individuals to install six contact tracing apps after telling them the risks and benefits
they will get from the different contact tracing apps. The six apps have covered two major
dimensions, which are the centralized vs. decentralized and basic contact tracing vs.
providing hotspot information. The majority of the sample users prefer to install the
centralized sever apps for contact tracing and are willing to allow centralized authority to
access their information. The majority of the users also prefer the apps that share the
recent location of diagnosed users’ to show hotspots of infection. The results suggest that
centralized architecture along with protection of privacy in doing basin contact tracing
and informing users of useful information such as hotspots of infection can be adopted
positively by individuals in the U.S.
Based on the study of Li, T. et al. (2020), one promising solution to slow the
spread of COVID-19 is by using contact tracing apps. But low adoption rates can prevent
the full potential of these apps. The U.S. was surveyed to investigate the effects of the app
design and their differences on contact tracing app adoption intentions. It was found that
people know the risks of using the apps and prefer apps that solve their privacy concerns,
technology readiness, and demographic factors that play an important role in using the
apps. Certain app designs could worsen the different preferences of users which may lead
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to inequality of acceptance to certain app design choices among different groups of
people. Analysis showed that one’s perception of the benefits of the app and their
willingness to adapt it will have a huge effect in influencing people and explaining the
observed effects of the app design choices and individual differences than others
perception of the privacy risks of the apps.
Developers of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps for local government units (LGUs)
are advised to incorporate a privacy-by-design (PbD) approach and allow users to
contribute or not for digital contact tracing. The Data Security and Compliance Office of
the National Privacy Commission (NPC) headed or provided the suggestions for changes.
Privacy Commissioner Raymund Enriquez Liboro encouraged software development
teams to act as privacy observers and create applications and systems where the data
privacy of users is protected at every level. (National Privacy Commission, 2020).
The local government of Cagayan de Oro City started imposing a programmed
contact tracing system for the COVID-19 through the "Higala App," a Quick Response
(QR)-based information dataset system. According to the Acting City Administrator
Teodoro A. Sabuga-a, Jr., the City Council's Committee on Health, led by City Councilor,
Dr. Lourdes Gaane, is set to create an ordinance institutionalizing the use of Higala App
on all public and commercial transactions within the city (Philippine National Agency,
2020). Aside from, the QR code system, different platforms are also performed to manage
contact tracing.
According to the study of Mbunge E. (2020), integrating emerging technologies
into COVID-19 contact tracing is seen as a viable option that policymakers, health
practitioners and IT technocrats need to seriously consider in mitigating the spread of
coronavirus. Government officials should take the initiative in utilizing digital processes
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or technology for contact tracing and should also inform the citizens the virtual
importance.
The Higala Online App City Ordinance is more aptly called Ordinance No.
14023-2021, and is described as “an ordinance instituting the Higala Online App as the
principal contact tracing system for COVID-19 response plan and other highly infectious
diseases in the city of Cagayan de Oro; mandating all residents and non-residents to use it
in entering all establishments, offices and other entities, whether public or private;
providing penalties for violation thereof; and for other purposes.” The Higala App was
developed by the City Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office (CTCAO) in cooperation with
the City Management Information System Office (CMIS) and was primarily a contact
tracing app for highly contagious diseases. It entails the use of a unique QR Code which
stores information and can be scanned using the Higala Android Scanner App. Section 7
of the Ordinance stated a mandatory use of the Higala App wherein all covered
establishments and entities are mandated to assign or designate personnel on
establishment entrances who will take charge of the scanning of the QR code and
checking of temperature and valid ID. Nobody will be allowed entry unless these
requisites are presented. Administrative penalties ranging from one thousand , three
thousand and five thousand pesos plus suspension of business permit are given to
violating establishments from the first, second and third offense respectively.
Five hundred, one thousand and one thousand five hundred pesos are the penalties
exacted from violating individuals from the first to third offense respectively.
The ordinance was approved by Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar S. Moreno on
February 8, 2021.
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Teenagers/Adolescence
Adolescence is a time of big social changes, emotional changes and changes in
relationships. Social changes include seeking for their identity, independence,
responsibilities, new experiences, values, social influences, and the use of media to learn
about the world (“Social and emotional changes: 9–15 years,” 2018).
According to the study of Özdemir, et al. (2016), Physical and Psychosocial
Effects of the Changes in Adolescence Period, this specific period is a process in which
physical, mental, emotional, social, cultural, moral, professional, self-esteem-related and
identity-related developments occur and it ends with gaining social productivity.
According to Idoiaga, N., et al. (2020), Spain has been greatly affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Classes have been cancelled, state of emergency was declared by
the government, and lockdowns were ordered to the public. Since March 13, children
were stuck at their homes and were not allowed to go outside. 228 children years from
North Spain did a free association exercise. Reinert method with Iramuteq software for
local analysis was employed to analyze the data. The results stated that children think that
coronavirus is an enemy and that the doctors are the ones protecting them. Children are
afraid of getting infected with COVID-19 not just because it is a deadly virus but because
they might also infect their grandparents and they might feel guilty about it. Even though
the lockdown produced conflicting emotions to the children, they still feel safe, happy,
and calm with their families. The results helped the government take into consideration
the psychological, educational, social, health, and well-being of the children in addressing
and handling the current situation of the pandemic by emphasizing more on social and
inclusive policies to help reduce the effects the children may suffer from the lockdown.
