Digital Public Health Tools: Understanding Barriers to Adoption in a Post-Pandemic World

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital public health tools emerged as alternatives to traditional paper records, aiming to limit the spread of disease. The Washington State Department of Health launched 'WA Verify,' a QR code-based vaccine verification system, in November 2021. However, concerns about privacy, surveillance, data sharing, and trust in technology hindered its adoption. A statewide survey of 5000 Washington households between September 2022 and January 2023 aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to the adoption of digital public health tools.

Key Takeaways:

• Unlikely users, comprising 27.1% of the survey respondents, were more likely to oppose policies requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative test results (65.9%).
• Unlikely users were more likely to cite concerns about personal health data security and phone hacking or tracking, demonstrating a technological divide between groups.
• Users and potential users were more likely to perceive a digital vaccine verification system as convenient and indicated openness to receiving relevant information from a range of sources.
• Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) had either already adopted or were willing to adopt a tool like WA Verify, highlighting the promise of digital public health tools.
• Concerns about data security, lower technological proficiency, and distrust of public health characterized those least likely to adopt digital public health tools.
• The research emphasized the need for targeted marketing and community engagement to improve adoption and ensure equitable access to public health technologies.

Statistics:

• 1401 respondents participated in the survey, with 359 (25.6% unweighted, 25.8% weighted) users, 662 (47.3% unweighted, 49.8% weighted) potential users, and 380 (27.1% unweighted, 24.4% weighted) unlikely users (weighted data).
• Users and potential users were more likely to own smartphones (users: 87.7%, potential users: 84.1%, unlikely users: 67.7%).
• Users and potential users demonstrated higher technological proficiency (users: 12.3%, potential users: 15.9%, unlikely users: 32.3%).
• 73% of respondents had either adopted or were willing to adopt a tool like WA Verify.

Sources:

• Exploring Attitudes and Obstacles Around Digital Public Health Tools: Insights From a Statewide Cross-Sectional Survey on Washington's Vaccine Verification System. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2025;27.
• Debra Revere, et al. (2025). Exploring Attitudes and Obstacles Around Digital Public Health Tools: Insights From a Statewide Cross-Sectional Survey on Washington's Vaccine Verification System. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2025;27.