Self-Reported Behavior Change After a Positive COVID-19 Test Result

U.S. investment in COVID-19 testing and diagnostics provided more than 1 billion tests to vulnerable populations across the nation; however, the impact of testing on behaviors that lead to transmission has not been previously assessed.

Outbreaks Near Me collects crowdsourced data from volunteer participants to help citizens and public health agencies identify hotspots for COVID-19. Outbreaks Near Me also collects data on what actions individuals take after testing positive for COVID-19.

Data collection from November 2022 through September 2023 showed that most people (75%) reported at least 2 precautions to protect others from contracting COVID-19. The overwhelming majority of those who reported measures (81%) indicated that they will continue to practice those precautions until they have a negative test result or are at least 10 days after the initial positive result. In addition, receiving a positive test was the catalyst for 48% to seek medical care or COVID-19 therapeutics, demonstrating that among this volunteer participant population, testing is impactful in preventing spread and adverse health outcomes from infection. Covariates included age, sex, race and ethnicity, comorbidities, vaccination status, and occupation in the healthcare industry.

These results suggest that high proportion of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 were likely to take precautions to protect others and to seek medical care or treatment. Overall, behavior change was found to be higher among those aged >65 years, among females, among those who received or intended to receive a booster vaccination, and among those with 2 or more comorbidities. Nearly half of individuals sought either medical care or treatment after testing. These findings support continued investment in testing and diagnostics to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and emphasize the importance of testing and diagnostics as part of medical countermeasures' role in pandemic preparedness and response.