International COVID-19 Awareness and Responses Evaluation Study

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Understanding people’s concerns about COVID-19, their perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes about public health policies, and how they impact what people are (and are not) willing to do will be important for informing policy strategy and how they are communicated, to ensure the best health and economic outcomes.

The iCARE Study will capture key data on people’s awareness, attitudes, and behaviors as they relate to the COVID-19 policies, as well as the impacts that COVID-19 is having on people’s physical and mental health, financial situation, and quality of life.

Data from approximately 250,000 people around the world will be analyzed to understand what government policies are (and are not) influencing behavior and outcomes, and in whom these policies are most or least effective. This data can be used to inform governments on the efficacy of policy measures on both people’s behavior, and on key health and quality of life outcomes.

Source: International COVID-19 Awareness and Responses Evaluation Study

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    The COVID Tracking Project

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    The COVID Tracking Project is a volunteer organization launched from The Atlantic and dedicated to collecting and publishing the data required to understand the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States.

    Every day, their teams collect data on COVID-19 testing and patient outcomes from all 50 states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia. The dataset is currently in use by national and local news organizations across the United States and by research projects and agencies worldwide. Their data API (which allows sites and apps to import our dataset automatically) receives about two million requests per day.

    On April 15, they launched the COVID Racial Data Tracker, a partnership between the COVID Tracking Project and the Center for Antiracist Research that collects, publishes, and analyzes racial data on the pandemic within the United States.

    Source: The COVID Tracking Project

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      Three Lessons from the Global South on Combating the Pandemic

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      This article, by Dr Muhammad Musa of BRAC International, a Bangladesh-based NGO, states that top-down measures to curb the spread of the virus – dramatic steps like lockdowns and bans on large gatherings – pose an immediate threat to families in the poorest communities.

      He writes that the key to fixing this situation is community engagement and the involvement of local leaders.

      Source: Three Lessons from the Global South on Combating the Pandemic

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        Strategy Stop COVID-19 in 60 Days

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        A video outlining the strategy of L’Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire (L’ANSS) and partners (Breakthrough ACTION, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, and USAID) for the the stop COVID-19 campaign in 60 days.

        Source: Strategy Stop COVID-19 in 60 Days

          Views 589

          mHero App

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          This app was developed during the Ebola crisis to help frontline health workers to keep u to date with the latest data and guidance, as well as keep a check on their own health.

          Lessons learned from the Ebola response pointed to how fast, informative communication to frontline health workers and their immediate, precise case reporting helped tackle the health emergency. mHero was useful in engaging communities, managing rumors, and mitigating public health threats.

          Given mHero’s origin, it is uniquely suited to fulfill communication needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mHero platform can be used for myriad government health communications needs, segmenting health workers into specific groups to:

          • Coordinate health promotion strategies and public health emergency responses
          • Train health workers on infection prevention and control and risk communication
          • Test health worker knowledge of COVID-19 responses through mini-quizzes
          • Report suspected COVID-19 cases and other high-priority diseases
          • Relay unanticipated stock-outs of essential commodities such as sterile gloves, masks, and respirators
          • Reveal local health and safety concerns, including mental health and physical risks

          Source: mHero App

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            COVID-19 Contact Tracing Online Course

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            The COVID-19 crisis has created an unprecedented need for contact tracing across the country, requiring thousands of people to learn key skills quickly. The job qualifications for contact tracing positions differ throughout the country and the world, with some new positions open to individuals with a high school diploma or equivalent.

            In this introductory course, students will learn about the science of SARS-CoV-2 , including the infectious period, the clinical presentation of COVID-19, and the evidence for how SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted from person-to-person and why contact tracing can be such an effective public health intervention. Students will learn about how contact tracing is done, including how to build rapport with cases, identify their contacts, and support both cases and their contacts to stop transmission in their communities.

            The course will also cover several important ethical considerations around contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine. Finally, the course will identify some of the most common barriers to contact tracing efforts — along with strategies to overcome them.

            Source: COVID-19 Contact Tracing Online Course

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              COVID-19 Care in India: The Course to Self-Reliance

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              The public health response to COVID-19 in India has been highly centralized, resulting in a homogenous strategy applied across a sixth of the world’s population.

              India was placed in a nationwide lockdown on March 24, 2020, with restrictions being relaxed in three phases since June. In May 2020, the prime minister called upon the Indian people to be self-reliant. The authors discuss opportunities to modify several aspects of the medical response to echo this sentiment.

              They conclude that what is still needed is a plethora of low-tech solutions (especially facial coverings), adherence to science, and societal participation in caring for vulnerable people.

              Source: COVID-19 Care in India: The Course to Self-Reliance

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                WHO Advice for Home-Based Care of COVID-19

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                This page includes guidance for the public on home-based care practices for those who have tested positive for COVID-19 or those who have come in contact with others who have tested positive. It was originally published in March 2020 and then updated in August 2020.  This is the latest version.

                The updates include:

                • Considerations regarding the IPC requirements for the household to be suitable for caring for COVID-19 patients in the home
                • Clinical monitoring and treatment of COVID-19 patients at home
                • Waste management in the home setting in the context of COVID-19
                • An appendix on the effective implementation of home-care policies

                Source: WHO Advice for Home-Based Care of COVID-19

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                  Timeline: WHO’s COVID-19 Response

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                  This timeline tells the story of WHO’s response to COVID-19, starting from the end of December 2019 to the present day.

                  The timeline breaks information down into the following categories, and within these, by regions of the world:

                  • All actions
                  • Information
                  • Science
                  • Leadership
                  • Advice
                  • Response
                  • Resourcing

                  Source: Timeline: WHO’s COVID-19 Response

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                    COVID-19 Kenya – Media Coverage Tracker

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                    This tracker, produced by the Kenya Ministry of Health in partnership with USAID, follows media coverage of COVID-19 in Kenya, offering information about the source, topic, and author. Several key topics the tracker covers include: economics, innovation, gender-based violence, aid, response, risk factors, etc.

                    Source: COVID-19 Kenya – Media Coverage Tracker

                      Views 788