RAPID: Reducing the Spread of COVID-19 Through Contact Tracing: The Influence of Age and Interview Protocol

新冠肺炎大流行已经严重扰乱了全球的日常生活，无论是社会上还是经济上。流行病学家警告说，要恢复“正常活动”，就需要对接触者进行追踪，这从对感染者的面谈开始，并允许识别和隔离其他接触者。重要的是，接触者追踪访谈基本上是一项记忆任务，但所使用的方法通常不包括促进记忆的技术。此外，研究普遍发现，在这场流行病中，关键群体--儿童和老年人--在记忆任务上的表现往往比青少年和中青年差。因此，有理由对接触者追踪面谈中提供的报告的准确性和完整性感到关切，特别是对处于生命关键阶段的个人。该项目研究了增强的记忆策略如何改进接触者追踪这一时间关键问题。通过这项研究，发展和认知科学可以在我们从这场流行病以及其他与健康相关的疾病中恢复方面发挥作用。拟议的研究旨在测试是否可以利用经验丰富的采访技术在一生中改善接触者的记忆。具体地说，这项研究测试了9岁至90岁的人在通过认知知情的接触者追踪访谈询问时，是否比基线访谈回忆起更多的联系人。这项研究还将检查两种管理方式的有效性：自我管理的调查形式和通过视频会议进行现场采访。回顾的接触性质的发展差异，如个人对接触的熟悉程度，也将被分析。这项研究的结果将直接告知我们是否有能力对所有年龄段的个人进行有效的接触者追踪访谈。调查结果还可以帮助一线工作人员进行安全、高效和有效的适合发展的访谈。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted daily life, both socially and economically, worldwide. Epidemiologists have cautioned that a return to “normal activities” requires contact tracing, which begins with interviews of infected persons and allows for the identification and isolation of other exposed individuals. Critically, contact tracing interviews are fundamentally a memory task, yet the methods used generally do not incorporate memory-facilitating techniques. Further, research has generally found that critical groups in this pandemic, children and the elderly, often perform worse on memory tasks than adolescents and young and middle-aged adults. As such, there is reason for concern about the accuracy and completeness of reports provided in contact tracing interviews, particularly for individuals within critical life phases. This project examines the time-critical issue of how enhanced memory strategies can improve contact tracing. Through this research, developmental and cognitive science can play a role in our recovery from this pandemic, as well as other health-related crises.The proposed study tests whether memory for contacts can be improved across the lifespan utilizing empirically-informed interview techniques. Specifically, this study tests whether individuals between the ages of 9 and 90 recall more contacts when queried via a cognitively-informed contact tracing interview, as compared to a baseline interview. The study will also examine the effectiveness of two types of administration: a self-administered survey format, and a live interview via video-conferencing. Developmental differences in the nature of the contacts recalled, such as the individual’s familiarity with the contact, will also be analyzed. The results of this study will directly inform our ability to conduct effective contact tracing interviews with individuals of all ages. Findings can also aid frontline workers’ ability to conduct safe, efficient, and effective developmentally-appropriate interviews.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.