The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes stakeholders from sectors such as health, education, transportation, agriculture, finance, social services, at any level and in any type of role to complete a public survey to identify priorities for a global research agenda on Public Health and Social Measures (PHSM) during health emergencies via this link:
The survey aims to identify medium- to long-term research priorities on PHSM for multiple hazards and will be open for three weeks. The survey can currently be accessed in English, and from early October will also be made available in Spanish and French.
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the critical role that PHSM have throughout the emergency management cycle. PHSM refer to a broad array of nonpharmaceutical interventions implemented by individuals, communities and governments to reduce the risk and scale of transmission of epidemic- and pandemic-prone infectious diseases. They can be used to address outbreaks with different modes of transmission and are key to protecting the health of communities.
The results of this survey will inform a global research agenda setting out priorities relevant to countries, researchers, and research funders to support the better understanding of the effectiveness of PHSM and their broader health, social and economic consequences during health emergencies.
The research agenda is being developed as part of WHO's multi-year PHSM initiative, which aims to accelerate global research and strengthen precision in PHSM policies and implementation. Its development started with a global technical consultation in 2021, which identified key themes and research questions. Subsequently, the questions were prioritized through a first public survey focusing on immediate research priorities pertinent to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further information on this can be found in this web article.
