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. 2021 Jun 5;21(1):1067.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11135-7.

Engagement with daily testing instead of self-isolating in contacts of confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2

Alex F Martin #  1   2 , Sarah Denford #  3   4   5 , Nicola Love  6 , Derren Ready  3   6 , Isabel Oliver  3   6 , Richard Amlôt  7   3   8 , G James Rubin #  7 , Lucy Yardley #  3   4   5   9
Affiliations

Engagement with daily testing instead of self-isolating in contacts of confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2

Alex F Martin et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: In December 2020, Public Health England with NHS Test and Trace initiated a pilot study in which close contacts of people with confirmed COVID-19 were given the option to carryout lateral flow device antigen tests at home, as an alternative to self-isolation for 10-14 days. In this study, we evaluated engagement with daily testing, and assessed levels of adherence to the rules relating to behaviour following positive or negative test results.

Methods: We conducted a service evaluation of the pilot study, examining survey responses from a subset of those who responded to an evaluation questionnaire. We used an online cross-sectional survey offered to adult contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases who consented to daily testing. We used a comparison group of contacts who were not offered testing and instead self-isolated.

Results: Acceptability of daily testing was lower among survey respondents who were not offered the option of testing and among people from ethnic minority groups. Overall, 52% of respondents reported being more likely to share details of people that they had been in contact with following a positive test result, if they knew that their contacts would be offered the option of daily testing. Only 2% reported that they would be less likely to provide details of their contacts. On the days that they were trying to self-isolate, 19% of participants reported that they left the house, with no significant group differences. Following a negative test, 13% of respondents reported that they increased their contacts, but most (58%) reported having fewer risky contacts.

Conclusions: Our data suggest that daily testing is potentially acceptable, may facilitate sharing contact details of close contacts among those who test positive for COVID-19, and promote adherence to self-isolation. A better understanding is needed of how to make this option more acceptable for all households. The impact of receiving a negative test on behaviour remains a risk that needs to be monitored and mitigated by appropriate messaging. Future research should examine attitudes and behaviour in a context where infection levels are lower, testing is more familiar, and restrictions on activity have been reduced.

Keywords: Adherence; COVID-19; Daily testing; Engagement; Policy; Self-isolating.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart showing participants invited to take part, consenting to take part in the study, responding to surveys, exclusions, and final group count
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Preference for daily testing or self-isolating, by isolation group
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Preference for daily testing or self-isolating, by demographic group
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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