One method in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 is that of contact tracing. It is estimated that in the US, 35,000–100,000 contact tracers will be hired (and trained) to talk to recently-infected individuals, understand who they have exposed to the virus, and encourage those exposed to self-quarantine. The Center for Disease Control recommends the use of motivational interviewing (MI) by contact tracers to encourage compliance with contact tracing/quarantine. Contact tracers need to sensitively communicate with COVID-19-exposed individuals who may also be experiencing other issues caused by the pandemic, such as anxiety, depression, grief, anger, intimate partner violence, health problems, food insecurity, and/or unemployment. Social workers are particularly prepared to address the mental health and other psychosocial problems that may be encountered in the tracing process. This article describes contact tracing, its use in other diseases, the role of MI, psychosocial issues that contact tracers may encounter, and how social work can respond to these needs. A sample dialogue of contact tracing using MI is presented with a discussion of the content and skills used in the process.

减轻 COVID-19 影响的一种方法是接触者追踪。据估计，在美国，将雇用（和培训）35,000-100,000 名接触追踪者，与最近感染的人交谈，了解他们接触过病毒的人，并鼓励那些接触过自我隔离的人。疾病控制中心建议接触追踪者使用动机性访谈 (MI) 来鼓励遵守接触者追踪/隔离。接触追踪者需要与暴露于 COVID-19 的个人进行敏感沟通，这些人可能还遇到由大流行引起的其他问题，例如焦虑、抑郁、悲伤、愤怒、亲密伴侣暴力、健康问题、粮食不安全和/或失业。社会工作者特别准备解决追查过程中可能遇到的心理健康和其他社会心理问题。本文介绍了接触者追踪、其在其他疾病中的应用、MI 的作用、接触者追踪者可能遇到的社会心理问题，以及社会工作如何应对这些需求。介绍了使用 MI 进行联系人跟踪的示例对话，并讨论了该过程中使用的内容和技能。