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Contact tracing is a public health intervention implemented in synergy with other preventive measures to curb epidemics, like the coronavirus pandemic. The development and use of digital devices have increased worldwide to enhance the contact tracing process. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of tracking coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients using digital solutions. Observational studies on digital contact tracing (DCT), published 2020-21, in English were identified through a systematic literature review performed on nine online databases. An ad hoc form was used for data extraction of relevant information. Quality assessment of the included studies was performed with validated tools. A qualitative synthesis of the findings is reported. Over 8000 records were identified and 37 were included in the study: 24 modelling and 13 population-based studies. DCT improved the identification of close contacts of COVID-19 cases and reduced the effective reproduction number of COVID-19-related infections and deaths by over 60%. It impacted positively on societal and economic costs, in terms of lockdowns and use of resources, including staffing. Privacy and security issues were reported in 27 studies. DCT contributed to curbing the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with the high uptake rate of the devices and in combination with other public health measures, especially conventional contact tracing. The main barriers to the implementation of the devices are uptake rate, security and privacy issues. Public health digitalization and contact tracing are the keys to countries' emergency preparedness for future health crises.

Abstract In the framework of the European Population Health Information Research Infrastructure (PHIRI) project, we analysed the healthcare use for depression and/or anxiety during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Aggregated monthly number of diagnoses were obtained from electronic health records and databases in Austria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Romania, Wales (UK), and Aragon (Spain) and analysed using the PHIRI federated research infrastructure. Rates of diagnosis, prescriptions and visits to primary care, hospital or emergency department were calculated by 10 000 population. Segmented Poisson regression to estimate changes in outcomes after the COVID-19 pandemic declaration was produced controlling for baseline levels and trends for the period January 2017 to December 2021. Following pandemic declaration, level change of incident diagnoses fell in Romania, Aragon (Spain), and Wales (UK) [log rate −0.853 (95% confidence interval −1.045 to −0.661), −0.338 (−0.434 to −0.242), and −0274 (−0.365 to −0.183), respectively]; level change of visits to primary care decreased in Romania and Wales (UK) [−0.347 (−0.555 to −0.138) and −0.272 (−0.368 to −0.177), respectively], and increased in Latvia [0.065 (0.004–0.126)]; level change for hospital admissions diminished in Latvia, Romania and Wales (UK) [−0.206 (−0.393 to −0.019), −0.947 (−1.143 to −0.752) and −0.116 (−0.202 to −0.030), respectively]; and level change of visits to emergency units fell in Latvia and Romania [−0.290 (−0.429 to −0.151) and −0.865 (−1.040 to −0.690), respectively] and increased in Aragon (Spain) [0.880 (0.259 to 1.502)]. COVID-19 pandemic declaration altered the use of mental health resources. This study highlights the potential use of harmonized data for providing evidence for future pandemic preparedness.