PERCEPTIONS OF CONTACT TRACING
AMONG SAN DIEGO LATINOS

BACKGROUND
The coronavirus pandemic has not impacted communities equally. As of September 20, 2020
– 44,577 San Diegans have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and 760 San Diegans have died
from COVID-19. Latino residents make up nearly two-thirds of those cases and nearly half of
all COVID-19 associated deaths, although only 34% of county residents identify as Hispanic
or Latino. It is evident that there are dramatic racial disparities in COVID-19 morbidity and
mortality, and our Latino communities in San Diego are at disproportionately higher risk of
contracting and dying from COVID-19.
 
The County’s T3 strategy has emphasized the importance of testing, tracing, and treatment
(isolation) to mitigate and contain the pandemic. It is important that these T3 efforts are
appropriately tailored to the community that is bearing the brunt of the disease.
 
The Chicano Federation partnered with the University of California, San Diego to design,
implement, and analyze a qualitative research project using open-ended interviews in order
to better understand the motivations and beliefs that determine participation in the
County’s T3 strategy among San Diego County’s Latino residents. Interviews were conducted
with 37 residents from San Diego’s Latino community in Spanish and English by bilingual
interviewers who were trained by UC San Diego health sciences faculty. Participants were
randomly recruited from zip codes with the highest rates of COVID-19 positive cases and
asked about their knowledge and perceptions of barriers and facilitators to the County’s T3
efforts.

FINDINGS
Several core ideas came up repeatedly across all 37 interviews:
 
Language considerations
Nearly every person we spoke with named language as the primary barrier to testing and
contact tracing efforts. Several interviewees expressed concern about non-English speaking
resident’s ability or desire to participate in contact tracing or case investigation calls.
FUNDING FOR THIS STUDY PROVIDED BY:

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 PERCEPTIONS OF CONTACT TRACING
AMONG SAN DIEGO LATINOS

Spanish-language outreach efforts do not appear to have diffused widely amongst the
community, none of the individuals we interviewed had seen COVID-19 educational outreach
messages in Spanish media. Moreover, participants emphasized the need to use accessible
language in both Spanish and English outreach efforts, citing concerns that COVID-19
prevention and testing information was not accessible to individuals with less formal
education.
Privacy concerns
Many interviewees expressed concerns about the potential impact testing and/or contact
tracing might have on immigration status. Interviewees were uncertain if individuals who
were undocumented would be willing to participate in contact tracing, or if cases who had
been in contact with undocumented residents would be willing to name these individuals as
part of the case investigation process.
“I wouldn’t be comfortable sharing information with the city due to the fact that it is
personal, and some people aren’t comfortable speaking to authority/County because of
their legal status. They are afraid to speak to them or even look for resources for that same
reason (NV).”
Testing
Some respondents expressed testing hesitancy due to the potential costs of the test, lack of
health insurance to cover the test and treatment if necessary, and the financial implications
of a positive result that could put them out of work.
Isolation barriers
Interviewees described a variety of structural barriers to their ability to isolate safely if
diagnosed with COVID-19. Many households are supported by a single income and female
interviewees in particular described the large amount of care work that they are responsible
for each day.

FUNDING FOR THIS STUDY PROVIDED BY:

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 PERCEPTIONS OF CONTACT TRACING
AMONG SAN DIEGO LATINOS

Social responsibility
Respondents felt strongly about their social responsibility to protect their family and
community. Despite the valid concerns that were raised about testing and contact tracing,
community members recognize that getting tested and participating in contact tracing were
actionable steps they could take to protect themselves and their families.

Recommendations
Linguistic and culturally tailored outreach to Spanish speaking communities and highincidence areas is key. While translation is available for individuals contacted by case
investigators and contact tracers, educational outreach regarding testing access and COVID19 prevention strategies likely needs to be significantly bolstered. Given that case rates are
highest in zip codes across southern San Diego county, which are home to many Spanish
speaking households, targeting and tailoring health and T3 education outreach to these
specific areas is likely to provide the highest benefit.

Outreach efforts must be transparent and proactive about data privacy concerns. Fears that
data could be shared with immigration and customs enforcement are very real. It is probable
that this has led to a situation where individuals who are undocumented or living in
households with mixed documentation status may be systematically less likely to access
testing, participate in contact tracing, and/or be named as contacts by an index case.
Barriers to isolation are structural and will require structural solutions. Many households are
supported by a single income. Asking the sole wage-earner in a household to isolate could
very likely precipitate a major financial crisis for an entire family. It is particularly important
to plan for this eventuality given that individuals who work outside the home are at higher
risk of COVID-19 exposure and infection. In other words, for many households the person
who is at the highest risk of COVID-19 infection is also the least likely to be able to isolate
safely.

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 PERCEPTIONS OF CONTACT TRACING
AMONG SAN DIEGO LATINOS
“They also might be the primary breadwinner and can’t afford to go get tested because if
they test positive, it can cause them to get out of work. They can’t afford to carry any
financial burden (AT).”
Moreover, female respondents reported engaging in a large amount of unpaid care work
throughout the day – cooking, cleaning, supervising children, supporting distance learning,
etc. It is unclear who would do this care work if the person previously responsible had to
isolate, or if families would be able to redistribute tasks in a way that minimized household
exposure.
To promote safe isolation, more support for households as well as individuals is necessary.
While individuals may need access to safe hotel rooms, the households they support or care
for will likely also need more tangible support such as food, rent relief, and additional
educational supports for children whose caregiver must isolate.

“As a new mom, it has been hard to raise a baby basically on my own because I can’t have
people over or family. There are times when it’s really hard and I need to catch a break but
I am not able to. My baby isn’t used to seeing anyone including my family which makes me
sad (NC).”
Build on community strengths. Across all interviews, study participants strongly endorsed
the need for community responsibility and care. Campaigns that build on this pervasive
sense of social responsibility will likely be well received. For example, emphasizing the
importance of learning one’s status to protect family and friends, or participating in contact
tracing to ensure contacts have the opportunity to stop outbreaks before they grow. Given
the potential for systematic under-tracing in undocumented communities, educational
efforts on the definition of exposures and close contacts may be one key way to support
informal contact tracing within high-risk networks that are less likely to access T3 services.
“It’s scary to ask people about having to share information about their contacts, [but] we
should do our part in taking care of ourselves to take care of the rest of the community
(M).”
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