COVID Behaviors Dashboard

"The dashboard can be used as a roadmap for policymakers to identify...how COVID behaviors are changing and what they can do to intervene." - Marla Shaivitz, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP)'s director of digital strategy

This interactive tool presents data from a global survey of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours around COVID-19. Data from this ongoing survey (launched May 20 2021) are collected daily, and the dashboard is updated every two weeks. The website is intended to be used by policymakers, health officials, and communication practitioners at national and subnational levels to better understand the behavioural drivers behind vaccine uptake, masking, testing, and physical distancing - among other practices that affect the spread of COVID-19.

The data are generated from the COVID-19 Trends and Impact Survey, which is administered in the United States by the Delphi Group at Carnegie Mellon University and in other countries by the University of Maryland Social Data Science Center. The two universities collect the survey data from a random sample of Facebook users from more than 200 countries, and Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) analyses the responses.

Additional content on the COVID Behaviors Dashboard was developed by CCP and the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). Namely, clicking on the Insights icon, which can be found to the right of the question preceding each visual on the dashboard, displays additional analysis including a description of the graphic, instructions on how to interact with the graphic, and the public health significance of the data.

An example of how the data can have real-world applications concerns the issue of vaccine hesitancy. The ongoing survey found that more than half of those who are unvaccinated in more than 50 countries indicated in August 2021 they definitely or probably won't get a COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID Behaviors Dashboard unpacks that survey data to help explain why - e.g., fears about side effects, a desire to wait until more people have had the shots so they know they are safe, and/or a lack of confidence in whether the vaccine really works - and to guide experts as they work to increase acceptance rates. Each underlying perception requires a different messaging response, such as by educating the public about vaccine science and side effects or by engaging with citizens to address their low risk perception. In short, the data and accompanying analyses can help decision-makers take informed steps to address vaccine hesitancy, among other pandemic-related issues, in their particular context.

Editor's notes:

• A previous COVID-19 behaviours dashboard, also led by CCP, was based on smaller, less frequent surveys from June 2020 through March 2021. See Related Summaries below for access.
• A webinar examining findings from the dashboard is planned for September 21 2021, at 9:30 am EDT. Click here for more information and to register.