COVID-19 outbreak: How the public health network could function better in disseminating information and instruction for action: Lessons learned

Abstract

The priority for the period of COVID-19 outbreak was to provide fast, well-timed dissemination of information to the general population (especially vulnerable groups) as well to health professionals and professionals from other areas of public life (police, army, local governments, education, and the business sector) on behavior change and prevention measures, in terms of guidance for the current epidemiological situation. At the Public Health Institute Niš, Serbia, we directed activities relying primarily on formal intervention approaches, WHO guidance and on information and knowledge gained at the April 2019 WHO "Emergency Risk Communication training and plan-writing workshop" in Belgrade/Serbia. To define the advantages and disadvantages of the applied method for dissemination of information, we followed the reporting guidance contained in Duncan E and colleagues', Guidance for reporting intervention development studies in health research (GUIDED). Guidelines for treatment and recommendations were disseminated through standard communication channels. A local public health network with a large number of partners from the governmental and non-governmental sector, established in recent years, was a kind of channel for dissemination of materials. We realized that formal intervention approaches should be rapidly improved by better mapping of all population groups, by modern ways of communication, by urgent introduction of digital communication channels such as telemedicine, smart phone engagement and internet applications, in order to educate and exchange information more efficiently and quickly, especially in crisis situations such as COVID-19 epidemics/pandemics.