COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Programs and Practice
Snapshots from the Field
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Report Publish Date: July/August 2022
This journal article describes the results of a survey of public health officials during the COVID-19 pandemic about their case investigation and contact tracing programs.
Primary Takeaways
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials’ survey found that:
- Most respondents did not have enough contact tracers and case investigators to deal with COVID cases.
- Respondents were able to trace about 80% of COVID cases.
- Top challenges included workloads that expanded because COVID had resurged, technology and data systems, public trust, funding, and program protocols.
Overview and Objectives
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials wanted to know how health officials were using existing protocols for investigating and tracing infectious disease.
Hypothesis or Approach
The authors sent rapid queries to 59 health officials in November 2020 and April 2021.
How This Influences Change
“Findings from these rapid data collection efforts may complement longer-term studies and inform programming and implementation of current and future investments in pandemic response and public health infrastructure,” the authors write.
Research: Go Deeper
Between Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials conducted 2 rapid queries to collect information from the field regarding the status of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing (CI/CT) programs and practice. These short surveys were distributed to senior deputies in state and territorial health agencies, yielding a response rate of 45.8% (November 2020) and 40.7% (April 2021). Findings indicated that CI/CT staff roles and assigned functions varied across jurisdictions, as did staffing levels/capacity, approaches for linking individuals to social supports, and program changes that were planned or underway. Agency-reported staffing levels/capacity and programmatic challenges changed over time, highlighting the dynamic nature of CI/CT program practice and implementation. While findings from the surveys cannot be generalized to the national level, they provide critical insights from the field on CI/CT program implementation, challenges, and changes in response to the evolving COVID-19 epidemic in the United States.
Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, July/August 2022. https://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000001488
Research Team
This study and report was conducted and created by the following people.
- Paris Harper-Hardy
- Elizabeth Ruebush
- Meredith Allen
- Maggie Carlin
- Marcus Plescia
- James S. Blumenstock
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