Ten considerations for effectively managing the COVID-19 transition

Katrine Bach Habersaat^#¹, Cornelia Betsch^#², Margie Danchin³, Cass R Sunstein⁴, Robert Böhm⁵, Armin Falk⁶, Noel T Brewer⁷, Saad B Omer⁸, Martha Scherzer⁹, Sunita Sah¹⁰, Edward F Fischer¹¹, Andrea E Scheel⁹, Daisy Fancourt¹², Shinobu Kitayama¹³, Eve Dubé¹⁴, Julie Leask¹⁵, Mohan Dutta¹⁶, Noni E MacDonald¹⁷, Anna Temkina¹⁸, Andreas Lieberoth¹⁹, Mark Jackson²⁰, Stephan Lewandowsky^{21

22}, Holly Seale²³, Nils Fietje⁹, Philipp Schmid²⁴, Michele Gelfand²⁵, Lars Korn², Sarah Eitze², Lisa Felgendreff², Philipp Sprengholz², Cristiana Salvi⁹, Robb Butler⁹

Affiliations

¹ WHO Regional Office for Europe, Insights Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark. habersaatk@who.int.
² Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences, Media and Communication Science, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany.
³ The University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ Harvard University, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Department of Economics, and Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science (SODAS), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁶ University of Bonn and Institute on Behavior and Inequality (BRIQ), Bonn, Germany.
⁷ Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
⁸ Yale Institute for Global Health, Department of Internal Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Yale School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, Yale School of Nursing, New Haven, CT, USA.
⁹ WHO Regional Office for Europe, Insights Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹⁰ Cambridge Judge Business School, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK.
¹¹ Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
¹² Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.
¹³ Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
¹⁴ Département d'Anthropologie, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada.
¹⁵ Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
¹⁶ Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE), Massey University, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
¹⁷ Department of Paediatrics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
¹⁸ Department of Sociology, European University of St. Petersburg, St, Petersburg, Russia.
¹⁹ Danish School of Education, Interacting Minds Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
²⁰ Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health and WHO Collaborating Centre on Culture and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
²¹ School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
²² University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
²³ School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
²⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany.
²⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 32581299
DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-0906-x

Review

Ten considerations for effectively managing the COVID-19 transition

Katrine Bach Habersaat et al. Nat Hum Behav. 2020 Jul.

. 2020 Jul;4(7):677-687.

doi: 10.1038/s41562-020-0906-x. Epub 2020 Jun 24.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ WHO Regional Office for Europe, Insights Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark. habersaatk@who.int.
² Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences, Media and Communication Science, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany.
³ The University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ Harvard University, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Department of Economics, and Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science (SODAS), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁶ University of Bonn and Institute on Behavior and Inequality (BRIQ), Bonn, Germany.
⁷ Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
⁸ Yale Institute for Global Health, Department of Internal Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Yale School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, Yale School of Nursing, New Haven, CT, USA.
⁹ WHO Regional Office for Europe, Insights Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹⁰ Cambridge Judge Business School, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK.
¹¹ Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
¹² Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.
¹³ Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
¹⁴ Département d'Anthropologie, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada.
¹⁵ Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
¹⁶ Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE), Massey University, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
¹⁷ Department of Paediatrics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
¹⁸ Department of Sociology, European University of St. Petersburg, St, Petersburg, Russia.
¹⁹ Danish School of Education, Interacting Minds Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
²⁰ Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health and WHO Collaborating Centre on Culture and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
²¹ School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
²² University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
²³ School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
²⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany.
²⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 32581299
DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-0906-x

Abstract

Governments around the world have implemented measures to manage the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While the majority of these measures are proving effective, they have a high social and economic cost, and response strategies are being adjusted. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that communities should have a voice, be informed and engaged, and participate in this transition phase. We propose ten considerations to support this principle: (1) implement a phased approach to a 'new normal'; (2) balance individual rights with the social good; (3) prioritise people at highest risk of negative consequences; (4) provide special support for healthcare workers and care staff; (5) build, strengthen and maintain trust; (6) enlist existing social norms and foster healthy new norms; (7) increase resilience and self-efficacy; (8) use clear and positive language; (9) anticipate and manage misinformation; and (10) engage with media outlets. The transition phase should also be informed by real-time data according to which governmental responses should be updated.

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References

1. Brooks, S. K. et al. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. Lancet 395, 912–920 (2020). - PubMed - PMC
1. World Health Organization. Pandemic Influenza Risk Management: A WHO guide to inform and harmonize national and international pandemic preparedness and response (World Health Organization, 2017).
1. World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe. Strengthening and adjusting public health measures throughout the COVID-19 transition phases. Policy considerations for the WHO European Region, 24 April 2020. http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-... (2020).
1. Anderson, R. M., Heesterbeek, H., Klinkenberg, D. & Hollingsworth, T. D. How will country-based mitigation measures influence the course of the COVID-19 epidemic? Lancet 395, 931–934 (2020). - PubMed - PMC
1. Radusin, M. The Spanish flu-part II: the second and third wave. Vojnosanit. Pregl. 69, 917–927 (2012). - PubMed - PMC

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Ten considerations for effectively managing the COVID-19 transition

Affiliations

Ten considerations for effectively managing the COVID-19 transition

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

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MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources