Insights from the Hawaii COVID Contact Tracking Survey

Apr 15

This is the first in a series of posts highlighting results from the Hawaii COVID Contact Tracking Survey conducted by the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC) and the Pacific Urban Resilience Lab (PURL) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The Hawaii Data Collaborative has partnered with this group to share regular analyses and updates from this survey in the coming weeks. If you have not done so already, we encourage you to participate in the survey here.

Information. More than masks, gloves or disinfectants, accurate and timely information is one of the most important tools we have to fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This is especially true when there is not sufficient testing for the virus in Hawaii and throughout the world. Sound information allows us, individually and as a community, to take proactive measures to combat this pandemic in ways that have proven to make a significant difference in our well-being.

This figure identifies areas of high risk in relation to vulnerable populations we need to protect. It shows survey respondents who reported having symptoms of or were confirmed to have the corona virus along with the locations of senior care facilities. The locations are approximated based on aggregate cases to the nearest intersections to ensure the anonymity of survey respondents.

That’s why it was heartwarming when more than 11,000 individuals in Hawaii responded within just five days to our initial request for information relating to the COVID-19 virus. This information has and will continue to help everyone, including our decision makers and healthcare professionals, make informed and critical choices on all manner of issues affecting our health.

For example, our survey revealed that one-fourth of the respondents said they had chronic medical conditions and 17 percent said a kupuna member was part of the household—households that tend to be more susceptible to harm from COVID-19. Three percent said they continued to attend gatherings with family and friends, even after the March 25 shelter in place order by Mayor Caldwell. Twenty-four percent said they had symptoms that are associated with COVID-19.

Ask any professional involved in polling and they will tell you that our experience is an amazing response to any kind of survey. Our thanks and aloha to all who took the time and effort to participate. You have done Hawaii a great service by sharing your knowledge and information relevant to fighting the pandemic.

The high response rate speaks to how important many believe sound information is in the fight against this deadly disease. We need to reinforce those behaviors that slow down its spread. We need to discourage behaviors that don’t. And we need information to help us decide how to prioritize critical responses from our health professionals and community, where to target those actions, and where to stage our limited resources.

We need information and we need to ensure that it is accurate, timely, and used appropriately and efficiently. That is why we are continuing to assess the information we’ve already received in our initial survey and plan to do more. As we distill that data, we will provide you with regular updates in as transparent and objective a manner as we can for everyone’s use.

We have only one goal: to thwart the spread of this disease and to keep us safe as we do so. You can join us in this effort by providing helpful information, by encouraging others to do so, and by spreading the word that we are, not only in this together, but we can do more than just stand on the sidelines waiting for someone else to do something. We all have a role to play and yours may be the most important one.