WHO invites the global stakeholders working across various sectors, at different levels and in various roles to participate in a brief survey to contribute to the development of a global research agenda for public health and social measures (PHSM) during health emergencies.
The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and seeks to identify immediate and urgent PHSM research priorities related to COVID-19 in the next 12 months. Six research themes and 45 priority research questions and topics in this survey were previously discussed during the first WHO global technical consultation on PHSM held from 31 August to 2 September 2021. This public survey, therefore, serves as the second stage of verification to improve the appropriateness and relevance of these proposed research questions.
About PHSM
PHSM are part of critical interventions during health emergencies to reduce the transmission of pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential. PHSM refer to actions including non-pharmaceutical interventions which reduce physical contacts or make them
safer. They contribute to lowering transmission, hospitalization rates and deaths, hence reduce the pressure on the health care system enabling it to maintain essential health services, buy time to develop and implement pharmaceutical interventions,
and offer increased individual and community protection. WHO’s multi-year PHSM initiative in the High Impact Events Preparedness (IEP) unit in the Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention (EPP) aims to accelerate
global research and strengthen precision in PHSM policies and implementation. Towards understanding the effectiveness as well as health, social and economic impact of PHSM during health emergencies, this public survey informs the development
of the global research agenda 2021-2030 covering immediate (next 12 months) and medium- to long-term (after 12 months and up to the end of 2030) priorities. This survey focuses first on the immediate priorities.
What will happen to my answers?
The survey is voluntary. It is anonymous and does not collect any personal information or contact details of the respondents. Only aggregate information will be analysed. Following a consultation and verification with PHSM working groups, the result of the survey will be published on the WHO website.
The survey will close on 15 October 2022. If you have further questions about the survey, you can contact phsm@who.int.
