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What is the purpose of case investigation in the context of COVID-19?
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1. Background and purpose
Case investigation and contact tracing (CI/CT) are longstanding public health measures used to mitigate the spread of infectious diseases and were a critical part of the public health response to COVID-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022a; World Health Organization (WHO), 2021). Case investigation involves interviewing someone who has confirmed or suspected COVID-19 to learn whom they may have exposed to the virus, eliciting their contacts, counseling them to monitor their symptoms, and recommending isolation (i.e., staying home and away from others). Contact tracing is the subsequent process of notifying close contacts of their potential exposure, referring them to testing, counseling them to monitor their symptoms, and encouraging them to quarantine (i.e., staying home and away from others after potential exposure) (CDC, 2022a).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, health departments faced challenges and lacked resources to provide CI/CT to all cases and contacts, especially during surges of high COVID-19 incidence (Lash et al., 2021). The success of CI/CT also depends on the participation of individuals, which can be influenced by factors including potential stigma and lack of trust in government (Lash et al., 2021). Research has also revealed that individual knowledge of and responses to CI/CT varied based on demographic characteristics, such as age, race, ethnicity, income, and political ideology (McClain & Rainie, 2020). Moreover, CI/CT may have also been impacted based on access to COVID-19 testing. For example, although increased availability and use of self-tests beginning in 2021 let more people learn of their COVID-19 infection outside of a clinical or laboratory setting, these results were not routinely reported to health departments, removing a key step in the CI/CT process (Rader et al., 2022).
Additionally, evolving guidance for testing, isolation, quarantine, and vaccination may have prompted individuals to alter their behaviors. For example, in December 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shortened the recommended duration of isolation for individuals with COVID-19 from 10 days to at least 5 days, with the recommendation to wear a well-fitting mask for 10 full days around others (CDC, 2021). The duration of quarantine and definition of a contact evolved over the course of the pandemic and were based on vaccination status and history of prior infection. For example, in December 2020, some jurisdictions implemented options to shorten quarantine for eligible people to 7 or 10 days from the recommended 14 days (CDC, 2020). By December 2021, CDC recommended that contacts who were not up to date with COVID-19 vaccines quarantine for at least 5 days, and all contacts, regardless of their vaccination status, get tested and wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days (CDC, 2021).
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1. Background and purpose
Case investigation and contact tracing (CI/CT) are longstanding public health measures used to mitigate the spread of infectious diseases and were a critical part of the public health response to COVID-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022a; World Health Organization (WHO), 2021). Case investigation involves interviewing someone who has confirmed or suspected COVID-19 to learn whom they may have exposed to the virus, eliciting their contacts, counseling them to monitor their symptoms, and recommending isolation (i.e., staying home and away from others). Contact tracing is the subsequent process of notifying close contacts of their potential exposure, referring them to testing, counseling them to monitor their symptoms, and encouraging them to quarantine (i.e., staying home and away from others after potential exposure) (CDC, 2022a).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, health departments faced challenges and lacked resources to provide CI/CT to all cases and contacts, especially during surges of high COVID-19 incidence (Lash et al., 2021). The success of CI/CT also depends on the participation of individuals, which can be influenced by factors including potential stigma and lack of trust in government (Lash et al., 2021). Research has also revealed that individual knowledge of and responses to CI/CT varied based on demographic characteristics, such as age, race, ethnicity, income, and political ideology (McClain & Rainie, 2020). Moreover, CI/CT may have also been impacted based on access to COVID-19 testing. For example, although increased availability and use of self-tests beginning in 2021 let more people learn of their COVID-19 infection outside of a clinical or laboratory setting, these results were not routinely reported to health departments, removing a key step in the CI/CT process (Rader et al., 2022).
Additionally, evolving guidance for testing, isolation, quarantine, and vaccination may have prompted individuals to alter their behaviors. For example, in December 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shortened the recommended duration of isolation for individuals with COVID-19 from 10 days to at least 5 days, with the recommendation to wear a well-fitting mask for 10 full days around others (CDC, 2021). The duration of quarantine and definition of a contact evolved over the course of the pandemic and were based on vaccination status and history of prior infection. For example, in December 2020, some jurisdictions implemented options to shorten quarantine for eligible people to 7 or 10 days from the recommended 14 days (CDC, 2020). By December 2021, CDC recommended that contacts who were not up to date with COVID-19 vaccines quarantine for at least 5 days, and all contacts, regardless of their vaccination status, get tested and wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days (CDC, 2021).
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-.50
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+.25
เต็ม
0
-35%
+30%
+35%
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