MORE ABOUT iCARE AND COVID-19 RESEARCH
SUMMARY STUDY DESCRIPTION
The International Assessment of COVID-19-related Attitudes, Concerns, Responses and Impacts in Relation to Public Health Policies (iCARE) study: Can we optimise strategies to flatten the COVID-19 infection curve?
The key to halting the rapid spread of COVID-19 and ‘flattening the curve’ is public adherence to drastic, rapidly evolving behaviour-based prevention policies that are being implemented around the world. However, adherence depends on: being aware of the policies (knowing what to do), believing that the policies being put in place are important; and being able to enact the policies, which may be influenced by various personal, family, job, and health-related characteristics.
Further, as we look towards de-confinement, people’s willingness to adhere to new government policies and recommendations (e.g., re: school openings, store openings) will also be critical for helping people ‘get back to normal’ and re-engaging the economy. Unfortunately, policies have varied greatly between provinces and countries, contributing to uncertainty about what the government’s priorities are (health vs. economy) and confusion about which policies to follow.
Understanding people’s concerns about COVID-19, their perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes about public health policies, and how they impact what people are (and are not) willing to do will be important for informing policy strategy and how they are communicated, to ensure the best health and economic outcomes. The iCARE Study will capture key data on people’s awareness, attitudes, and behaviours as they relate to the COVID-19 policies, as well as, the impacts that COVID-19 is having on people’s physical and mental health, financial situation, and quality of life.
Data from approximately 250,000 people around the world will be analysed to understand what government policies are (and are not) influencing behaviour and outcomes, and in whom these policies are most or least effective. This will allow us to inform governments on the efficacy of policy measures on both people’s behavior, and on key health and quality of life outcomes.
Read the complete study description
The iCARE study has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the CIUSSS-NIM (Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal): approval # 2020-2099 / 03-25-2020.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
COVID-19 GENERAL RESOURCES
- Article: How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times
- Tipsheet: Taking Control of the Seemingly Uncontrollable – Physical and Mental Health During COVID-19
OTHER COVID-19 STUDIES
- International Survey on Coronavirus
- Harvard Humanitarian Initiative – Global COVID-19 Survey (Phase 4)
- The COVID Health Animation Project (CHAP)
- The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Canadian Academic Faculty
- COVID-19 Pandemic and Exercise (COPE) Trial (18 – 64 years old, Canada only)
- Seniors COvid-19 Pandemic and Exercise (SCOPE) Trial (65 years or older, Canada only)
- Living with Cancer in the Time of COVID-19: A cohort study of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer patients during treatment and survivors (Canada only)
CONTACT THE iCARE TEAM
If you have any questions about the study, please contact Dr. Kim Lavoie, PhD at covid19study@mbmc-cmcm.ca.