Synthesized Guidance for COVID-19 Message Development

"Coordinated, consistent messages are critical to providing an effective communication response, enabling multiple stakeholders to speak and engage the people they serve with one clear voice across all channels of communication."

Effective risk communication can manage people's expectations during an emergency and assist response efforts by increasing efficiency and minimising duplication or contradictory information. From Breakthrough ACTION, this living digital document is designed to support the development of messages and materials needed for communication interventions around COVID-19. It aims to provide a synthesised, indexed reference of accurate, standardised COVID-19 information - in what is meant to be clear, simple language - in order to:

• Support the sharing of consistent and credible information across numerous channels;
• Inform activities and materials designed to raise awareness, promote healthy behaviours, and mobilise individuals, families, and communities to take action to prevent the spread of COVID-19;
• Provide a foundation of credible information to which more detailed and specific information can be added as it becomes available; and
• Provide a tool that can be adapted to individual country contexts to support coordinated response activities.

Breakthrough ACTION explains that, as evidenced in the 2014-2015 West African Ebola outbreak, an effective emergency response can depend on behavioural and social norm changes. These changes require robust, trustworthy communication and commitment to community engagement to support those affected by an outbreak to, among other things, help ensure that communities see the benefit in adopting the behaviours advocated in an emergency response and willingly cooperate with response teams.

This document, which facilitates access to needed information via internal and external hyperlinks, is based on resources from the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and academic resources such as the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Global Health Now Expert Reality Check.

Designed primarily for programme staff designing or implementing COVID-19 risk communication messages or community engagement activities, the resource is organised into 6 parts based on broad audience categories:

1. Introduction: Provides an orientation to the resource.
2. Content relevant to the General Public: Catalogues and presents information for the prevention, detection, and general management of COVID-19, along with other commonly asked questions and information on a variety of cross-cutting topics.
3. Content relevant to Health Workers and Health Facilities: Catalogues and presents information relevant for health workers and others working in or managing care facilities and provides links to additional technical and operational guidance.
4. Content for School Administrators, Parents of Students, and Children: Catalogues and presents information and resources related to school safety and management in the context of COVID-19, as well as guidance developed by UNICEF and WHO for talking with youth of different ages about COVID-19.
5. Content and technical guidance resources relevant to Special Industry, Response Organizations, and Decision Makers: Catalogues and presents information and links to operational and technical guidance provided by WHO and CDC related to the travel industry and ports of entry, as well as those working in fragile settings like migrant camps, prisons, COVID-19 test laboratories, and wet markets. It also provides information and links to help support authorities, decision makers, and actors supporting case management, surveillance, and other response pillars.
6. Resources and tools from the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) and other partners on effective messaging design, selection of communication channels, audience needs, and pretesting to support adaptation and use of the information presented in Parts 2-5.

Because the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve rapidly, readers are encouraged to check the document frequently online as opposed to downloading a version of the document and working with it over time. New content and updates to existing content are released weekly (each Friday by 6pm EST). All new content is highlighted in a section titled "What's New" and is marked in the Table of Contents and the body of the document with an icon.

Feedback or questions on the document are welcome and can be provided via this form. There is also a brief Navigation Aid available to help readers use the Synthesized Guidance.