ECDC Virtual Academy (EVA)

Topic outline

• General

  General
• Background

  Background

  

  Overview: This infodemic management course applies evidence-based guidance to the COVID-19 pandemic. It covers key risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) principles and illustrates how they can be operationalized in the context of an extended outbreak that affects different populations with varying risk levels. Illustrations from WHO headquarters, regions, and Ministries of Health provide concrete examples of messaging and other communication interventions developed during COVID-19

  Course duration: Approximately 2 hours.

  Certificates: A Record of Achievement certificate will be available to participants who score at least 80% of the total points available across all of the quizzes. Participants who receive a Record of Achievement can also download an Open Badge for this course. Click here to learn how.

  
  
• Learning Objectives

  Learning Objectives

  Learning objective: By the end of this course, participants should be able to:
  

  • explain how to sustain behaviour change for the next phase of the response; and
  • describe methods, approaches, and proven activities from regions and countries.

  
  
• Course contents

  Course contents

  • Module 1: Risk communication and community engagement: Overview: 

    By the end of this module, you will be able to: define risk communication and community engagement; explain the key challenges for RCCE during public health emergencies; identify several RCCE tactics for managing uncertainty; identify several elements of public trust related to agencies responding to public health emergencies, and identify several mechanisms to use for “listening” and engaging stakeholders and communities.

  • Module 2: Influencing risk perception about COVID-19 to encourage healthy behaviors: 

    By the end of this module, you should be able to: describe the concept of risk perception as it relates to health emergencies; identify how and why risk perception varies, and the repercussions of different levels for adherence to public health recommendations; identify the cognitive and emotional/contextual characteristics of health threats that influence risk perception for at-risk groups and scientific experts, and describe how different characteristics of health threats can be used in messaging to influence risk perceptions.
    

  • Module 3: Sustaining COVID-19 recommended behaviors for extended periods: 

    By the end of this module, you should be able to: describe the limits of risk perception and fear appeals to sustain behavior change over extended periods of public health emergencies, like COVID-19; identify how “status quo bias” can make it harder for people to follow new or different behaviors; describe specific tactics for making recommendations easier to perform that can help sustain new, protective behaviors; explain how nudging works to encourage adherence to public health recommendations; identify several types of groups that have not consistently followed COVID-19 health protection measures, and explain the challenges of persuading them to follow recommendations.
• Where to find these materials?

  Where to find these materials?

  You can take this e-learning on the WHO platform, OpenWHO, following this link 

  Note, if you don't have a WHO account you may need to create a new one. Alternatively you may take the course as guest without getting a certificate.