COVID-19: Developing evidence-based messages to encourage preventive health behaviours

一个人的健康信念、社会支持、文化等变量会影响采取健康行为的可能性。因此，这些变量需要在旨在鼓励预防行为（如洗手和保持社交距离）的任何公共卫生信息中加以解决。在大流行病时期，如果不遵守某些行为就会危及生命，因此精心设计公共卫生信息就变得更加重要。为了帮助公共卫生官员设计有效的信息，我们需要确定与每种预防行为最密切相关的特定变量，以便将其优先考虑。我们的项目将通过严格审查现有的研究文献来提供这些信息，这些文献涉及解释参与预防行为（如洗手和社交距离）可能性的变量。本综述中包含的研究将在类似于COVID-19的疾病背景下进行，如严重急性呼吸系统综合征（SARS）以及大流行性和季节性流感。我们亦将纳入检讨过程中出现的任何有关COVID-19的证据。检讨结果将向公共卫生机构作出总结，并将有助优化任何旨在鼓励对COVID-19或任何未来类似情况采取预防行为的信息的有效性。

Variables such as a person's health beliefs, social support, culture, etc. influence the likelihood of undertaking a health behaviour. Therefore, these variables need to be addressed in any public health messages designed to encourage preventive behaviours (such as handwashing and social distancing). In times of a pandemic, when lives are at risk if certain behaviours are not followed, the careful design of public health messages becomes even more important. To help public health officials to design effective messages, we need to identify the specific variables that are most strongly related to each preventive behaviour so that these can be prioritised.Our project will provide this information by rigorously reviewing the existing research literature about the variables that explain the likelihood of engaging in preventive behaviours (such as handwashing and social distancing). The research included in this review will have been conducted in the context of illnesses similar to COVID-19, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and pandemic and seasonal influenza. We will also include any relevant evidence about COVID-19 that emerges over the course of our review.The findings of the review will be summarised for public health bodies and will help to optimise the effectiveness of any messages designed to encourage preventive behaviours for COVID-19 or any future similar situations.