ArticleBMC public health2022
The hidden burden of medical testing: public views and experiences of COVID-19 testing as a social and ethical process.
Article in BMC public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Demand creation for testing and Covid-19 surveillance indicators in the Covid-19 Testing, Isolation, Quarantine, and Telemonitoring Study.Revista de saude publica · 2026Article
- Ethical burdens of COVID-19 testing: the case for a research agenda to improve effectiveness and equity in pandemic response.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Public perception of medical detection dogs and other COVID-19 testing strategies.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Who We Test For: Aligning Relational and Public Health Responsibilities in COVID-19 Testing in Scotland.Medical anthropology · 2024Article
- Decision to self-isolate during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: a rapid scoping review.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Falsification of home rapid antigen lateral flow tests during the COVID-19 pandemic.Scientific reports · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn May 2020, the Scottish Government launched Test and Protect, a test, trace and isolate programme for COVID-19 that includes a PCR testing component. The programme's success depended on the willingness of members of the public to seek out testing when they experienced symptoms and to comply with guidelines on isolation should they test positive. Drawing on qualitative interview-based research, this paper analyses public understandings, expectations, and experiences of COVID-19 testing during the early stages of the programme. Through anthropological and sociological analysis of the findings we aim to contribute to social understandings of COVID-19 testing practices; and to inform the design of population level testing programmes for future pandemics.
methodsBetween 7 July and 24 September 2020, 70 semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the general public (aged 19-85) living in the Lothian region of Scotland. Interviews were held online or by telephone, were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis informed by anthropological and sociological theories of medical testing.
findingsSocial relationships and ethical considerations shape testing practices at every stage of the testing process. Members of the public viewed testing as a civic duty to society and moral duty to friends, family, and colleagues. However, the testing process also placed a significant social, economic, and practical burden on the individual and sometimes generated competing obligations. Many participants experienced a disconnect between the government's portrayal of testing as easy and the everyday burden of testing.
conclusionsCOVID-19 testing is experienced as a social process shaped by multiple relationships and ethical considerations. The full burden of testing should be considered in the design of future testing programmes.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.