Accounting for health inequities in the design of contact tracing interventions: a rapid review

Context Contact tracing has been a central COVID-19 transmission control measure. However, without the consideration of the needs of specific populations, public health interventions can exacerbate health inequities. Purpose The purpose of this rapid review was to determine if and how health inequities were included in the design of contact tracing interventions in epidemic settings. Method We conducted a search of the electronic databases MEDLINE and Web of Science. Our inclusion criteria included articles that: (i) described the design of contact tracing interventions, (ii) have been published between 2013 and 2020 in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, or Portuguese, (iii) and included at least 50% of empiricism, according to the Automated Classifier of Texts on Scientific Studies (ATCER) tool. We relied on various tools to extract data. Result Following the titles and abstracts screening of 230 articles, 39 articles met the inclusion criteria. Only seven references were retained after full text review. None of the selected studies considered health inequities in the design of contact tracing interventions. Conclusion The use of tools/concepts for incorporating health inequities, such as the REFLEX-ISS tool, and “proportionate universalism” when designing contact tracing interventions, would enable practitioners, decision makers, and researchers to better consider health inequities.