Using Digital Technology to Conduct COVID-19 Surveillance: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to new ideas in surveillance, including the use of digital technology. However, there is limited  knowledge about the role of digital technology in COVID-19, including its challenges.

Objectives: This study explored how digital technology supports COVID-19 surveillance and examined the challenges and opportunities associated with using these technologies.

Methodology: A systematic review was conducted using the Population Intervention Comparison and Outcome framework, analysing papers from the SCOPUS database. The study focused on the use of websites for COVID-19 surveillance during the pandemic.

Results: Digital technologies significantly contributed to virus surveillance through innovations like smartphone-based contact tracing, proximity tracking protocols, the Internet of Things (IoT), video monitoring technologies, and web-based applications. The deployment of digital technologies in response to emerging diseases such as COVID-19 has been hampered by a constellation of interrelated challenges. Key among these are (1) the scarcity of high-quality, unbiased data and the difficulties of integrating disparate datasets; (2) limitations in technology design and the shortage of skilled human resources to develop, deploy, and maintain digital tools; (3) gaps in physical and network infrastructure, particularly in low- and middle-income settings; (4) cybersecurity vulnerabilities and complex ethical quandaries around privacy, consent, and algorithmic transparency; and (5) broader political, social, and environmental barriers, ranging from governance misalignment to inequitable access and ecological impacts. Each of these domains must be addressed holistically to ensure that digital interventions can effectively support surveillance, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention in future health emergencies.

Unique Contribution: This study emphasises the role of digital technologies in virus detection, monitoring, and prevention as a medium of infectious disease transmission, particularly in contact tracing, symptom monitoring, location tracking, and real-time data management. It highlights the challenges of privacy, data security, and public adoption issues.

Conclusion: Digital technology has demonstrated its pivotal role in strengthening public health surveillance during the pandemic, improving efficiency, accuracy, and capacity in pandemic response. Collaboration is needed between technology developers, policymakers, and efforts to enhance public digital literacy to maximise the benefits of technology in health surveillance.

Key Recommendation: Future research should focus on developing digital technology websites, particularly for the surveillance of other infectious diseases, such as monkeypox and foot-and-mouth disease.