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. 2022 Jun 21;12(2):102-105.
doi: 10.5588/pha.21.0080.

Tell Us! A survey of public opinion on how to deal with COVID-19 risks and subsequent harm

A Teufel  1 , E Klager  1 , C Grill  2 , M Hribersek  1 , A-K Ruf  1 , L Zindel  1 , H Willschke  1   3 , A G Atanasov  1   4 , F Eibensteiner  1   5 , M Kletecka-Pulker  1   6
Affiliations

Tell Us! A survey of public opinion on how to deal with COVID-19 risks and subsequent harm

A Teufel et al. Public Health Action. .

Abstract
in English, French

Setting: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of us in many areas of life due to mitigation measures, delays in medical care, or the disease itself. When it concerns issues as complex and universal as COVID-19, the public should also have a say in how to deal with managing its impact.

Design: In a widely distributed online questionnaire, members of the Austrian public were invited to contribute experiences, ideas and opinions on the level of risk they were willing to accept regarding COVID-19. The huge variety of responses were categorised by social scientists into groups used in a workshop to draw up recommendations for responding to future challenges to the healthcare system from an interdisciplinary point of view.

Results: The results of the survey indicated that while members of the public are primarily afraid of illnesses caused by COVID-19, they also fear the psychological burden and effects at the societal level.

Conclusion: Our study has shown that there is a significant public desire to have a say in issues which directly impact citizens.

Contexte: La pandémie de COVID-19 a eu un impact sur chacun d’entre nous dans de nombreux domaines de la vie en raison des mesures d’atténuation, des retards dans les soins médicaux ou de la maladie elle-même. Lorsqu’il s’agit de questions aussi complexes et universelles que la COVID-19, le public devrait également avoir son mot à dire sur la façon de gérer son impact.

Méthode: Dans un questionnaire en ligne largement diffusé, les membres du public autrichien ont été invités à faire part de leurs expériences, idées et opinions sur le niveau de risque qu’ils étaient prêts à accepter concernant le COVID-19. La grande variété des réponses a été classée par des spécialistes en sciences sociales dans des groupes utilisés lors d’un atelier pour élaborer des recommandations visant à répondre aux futurs défis du système de santé d’un point de vue interdisciplinaire.

Résultats: Les résultats de l’enquête ont indiqué que si les membres du public craignent avant tout les maladies causées par le COVID-19, ils craignent également le fardeau psychologique et les effets au niveau de la société.

Conclusion: Notre étude a montré qu’il existe un désir significatif du public d’avoir son mot à dire sur les questions qui ont un impact direct sur les citoyens.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; citizen input; participation; public health; public opinion.

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Figures

FIGURE
FIGURE
Topics of concern derived from the responses given by the participants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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