https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3362-3226
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled public authorities to establish preventive measures involving individual behaviour modification strategies (mask-wearing, social distancing, etc.) with a view to community protection. In this context, documenting people’s behaviour changes, the impact of public health measures, and individuals’ knowledge, motivations, and beliefs – even their perception of how the crisis is being managed – is essential for understanding the experience of the population and adapting the management approach accordingly. This article presents findings and lessons on how to monitor a population’s behaviour during a crisis, obtained by reviewing forty-five surveys conducted in Belgium and France during the first Covid-19 stay-at-home order, from April to May 2020. The central message is to argue that the citizens’ role in this type of survey – and in managing the crisis, more generally – should be reconsidered by thinking of them as true health partners and members of a community that could be mobilised to help.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work. Both Benoit Pétré and Delphine Kirkove are members of Be.Hive, the Belgian French-speaking Interdisciplinarity Primary Care Chair. The chair is supported by Fund De Coninck. The Fund Dr Daniël De Coninck is managed by the King Baudouin Foundation.