Nurse, Give Me the News! Understanding Support for and Opposition to a COVID-19 Health Screening System

Helping the sick and protecting the vulnerable has long been the credo of the health profession. In response to the coronavirus-disease-2019 (COVID-19 pandemic), hospitals and healthcare institutions have rapidly employed public health measures to mitigate patient and staff infection. This paper investigates staff and visitor responses to the COVID-19 eGate health screening system; a self-service technology (SST) which aims to protect health care workers and facilities from COVID-19. Our study evaluates the in situ deployment of the eGate, and employs a System Usability Scale (SUS) and questionnaire (n = 220) to understand staff and visitor’s acceptance of the eGate. In detailing the themes relevant to those who advocate for the system and those who oppose it, we contribute towards a more detailed understanding of the use and non-use of health-screening SSTs. We conclude with a series of considerations for the design of future interactive screening systems within hospitals.