Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) technical guidance by WHO RCCE action plan: COVID-19 preparedness | Page 25

Annex 7 – Sources of feedback and guidance
How can you learn what your audiences and stakeholders are wondering
about, worried about, and misunderstand?
Knowing what your audiences don’t understand is necessary so your team can respond to those questions.
Two other issues require similar activities in which you need to actively “listen” to audiences: what are they
worried about and what information do they believe but misunderstand (misinformation, questions, concerns
and rumors).
In the same way that those health authorities must identify and address new questions, they must also know
about and address worries, questions and rumors. The mechanisms for gathering information about concerns,
questions, believes and rumors can be the same as those for identifying new stakeholder questions. Some
common sources include:
• Media monitoring (traditional news and social media)
• Key informant interviews and focused groups
• Rapid assessments and surveys
• Community leaders and mobilizers
• Partners who are trusted by communities and at-risk groups
• Monitoring radio talk shows
• Tracking calls and content of health “hotlines”
• Feedback mechanisms
Health authorities will want to make use of as many sources as possible to understand their audiences’ and
stakeholders’ understanding of COVID-19.
Identify sources above that the health authority and/or your partners have ready access to. Choose a source or
a combination of sources that will yield information about concerns from all your stakeholders. If partners have
intelligence on communities or at-risk groups that your health authority lacks, create an agreement to share what
you are each learning about questions, believes, rumors and concerns.
Reviewing and responding to public/community concerns, misinformation and rumors.
Regularly review the information that you gather about public/community rumors and concerns (daily at the height
of an outbreak) to determine:
What rumors or misinformation is circulating? For each rumor, ask:
• Is the misinformation harmful? Will it lead to harmful action? If so, your health authority must address it
and correct it.
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