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Project summary

TELL ME is a 36 month Collaborative Project, which aims to provide evidence and to develop models for improved risk communication during infectious disease crises.  TELL ME combines public health, social sciences, behavioral sciences, political sciences, law, ethics, communication and media, in order to develop original communication strategies regarding complicated messages and advice based on uncertainties, also addressing vaccine-resistant groups.

The changing paradigms of public communication during infectious outbreaks

During infection outbreaks, one of the major problems has always been to communicate with the population in order to influence behaviors, reduce the spread of disease and avoid panic. For centuries the communication strategy adopted by authorities dealing with infectious outbreaks was chiefly based on denial and verbal reassurances, followed, in a further phase, by restrictive measures (quarantine, isolation, compulsory hospitalization) and sanctions for non compliant individuals. The increasing recognition that human behaviour critically influences infectious disease transmission led to concentrate efforts on education and prescriptive messages.

Yet recommendations were soon recognized as insufficient, people needed to be also “persuaded” by emotional messages. The focus then shifted on public health propaganda. As the rapid and tumultuous progress in biological sciences, computer sciences, information technologies, and the naissance of a global public health governance, are offering new, surprising, opportunities for the containment of infectious disease outbreaks, there is the danger that we fail to take advantage of these opportunities, only getting their “adverse effects”. We need instead to understand how maximizing opportunities and minimizing risks, notably we should learn to exploit the huge potential that the info society may offer in terms of evidence based and participatory communication. This is the first lesson, that one should get from communication failures occurred during the 2009 influenza H1N1 pandemic. A real paradigm shift has occurred, new challenges must be addressed, new models should be developed: this is the pivotal concept that has driven the consortium to propose the TELL ME project.

Research Questions

TELL ME will answer three distinct research questions.

  • How can the general population be persuaded through public health communication to take effective preventative actions (e.g., vaccination, antiviral therapy, hygienic norms, etc.)?
  • What are the most appropriate communication methods to deal with complexity, uncertainty, ignorance, information asymmetries, overwhelming information, biased information, misinformation and malicious information?
  • What are the best communication strategies to support vaccine uptake, and to assist health professionals and agencies to engage with vaccine-resistant groups?

The objectives of TELL ME project

TELL ME sets one over-arching goal, which is the establishment of an integrated research project involving social sciences, behavioural sciences, communication, media expertise and civil society to develop an evidence- based behavioural and communication package to respond to major epidemic outbreaks. In order to reach this goal, TELL ME will met a number of objectives:

Table. List of Objectives

OBJECTIVES Description Topic
POPULATION BEHAVIOUR DURING EPIDEMICS" Collecting and discussing evidence on population behaviour during infectious diseases outbreaks Research should focus on and how human behaviour influences disease transmission, vaccine acceptance and antiviral therapy acceptance in the general population in a crisis situation.
NEW CHALLENGES AND NEW METHODS" Identification of the new challenges and new methods for outbreak communication, addressing knowledge and attitudes towards vaccination Research should focus on developing appropriate communication methods, especially regarding complicated messages and advice based on uncertainties, a changing epidemiological picture and information gaps. Attention should be paid to addressing knowledge and attitudes towards vaccination for a better understanding of the level of acceptable risk in vaccination in relation to the perceived risk of disease.
NEW COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES" Development of an integrated, evidence based, communication workpackage (TELL ME Communication Kit) for outbreak communication. The project should develop (...) strategies to support vaccine uptake with special focus on new communication strategies for health professionals/agencies to engage with vaccine- resistant groups.
AGENT BASED SOCIAL SIMULATION" Design, construct and test a prototype of a computational method for simulating the actions and interactions of autonomous decision-making entities within a virtual environment during an epidemic outbreak The project should (...) test strategies to support (...)
DISSEMINATION Dissemination and policy dialogue  

TELL ME project is splitted in 6 work packages, that correspond to the main lines of research, disemination and management of the project.

POPULATION BEHAVIOUR DURING EPIDEMICS

Leader: National Centre For Epidemiology, Surveillance And Health Promotion - CNESPS (Italy)

Objectives

This work package (WP) aims to collect and assess evidence about population behavioural response to infectious diseases outbreaks, and about how communication may change behaviours. In this WP we shall carry out a comprehensive exercise that will include:

  • a systematic review of studies addressing population behaviour during infectious outbreaks and review of outbreak communication in 2009 pandemic;
  • review of components and issues of outbreak communication;
  • segmentation and specific communication needs of target groups;
  • vaccine acceptance/refusal and resistance to vaccination;
  • narratives and Urban Myths surrounding epidemics and vaccination;
  • human rights, stigmatization and risk of discrimination against specific population segments and target groups.

NEW CHALLENGES AND NEW METHODS FOR OUTBREAK COMMUNICATION

Leader: School Of Public Health At The University Of Haifa - UH (Israel)

Objectives

This work package aims to identify new challenges and new methods concerning outbreak communication. While WP1 describes established issues, WP2 describes emerging trends, In particular WP2 will address:

  • Stakeholder Mapping
  • Stakeholder Communication Requirements
  • Health Care Professional Communication Requirements;
  • Technical, legal and scientific feasibility of an onlne course for primary care staff;
  • New social media;
  • Digital Resources for Disease Detection;
  • The new global health security regime.

DEVELOPING NEW COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

Leader: Centre For Science, Society And Citizenship - CSSC (Italy)

Objectives

This WP will focus on new communication strategies to support vaccine uptake with special focus on new communication strategies for health professionals and agencies to engage with vaccine-resistant groups. We will develop an integrated strategy based on the relationships between the various actors involved, the information, belief and opinion flows between these actors, and the effects of the information and belief on actors’ behaviour. This approach will be applicable, with variations, to all epidemics, and will be dynamic, that is, tracing the flows of knowledge and action through time, starting before the epidemic and finishing well after the epidemic. The main outcome of this WP will be an integrated, evidence based, communication workpackage (TELL ME Communication Kit) for outbreak communication.

AGENT BASED SOCIAL SIMULATION

Leader: Centre For Research In Social Simulation, University Of Surrey - CRESS (United Kingdom)

Objectives

Main objectives of this WP are to design, construct and test a prototype of a computational method for simulating the actions and interactions of autonomous decision-making entities within a virtual environment during an epidemic outbreak, in order to observe the emergence of effects at the macro level (agent based social simulation). The model will include the various actors involved, including health agencies, government, the media, experts and the public and, in coded and simplified form, the content of the “messages” sent between these actors.

DISSEMINATION AND POLICY DIALOGUE

Leader: Zadig ltd (Italy)

Objectives

This Unit aims to communicate the finding and outcomes of the project, coordinate efforts with similar projects, and network with relevant stakeholder organisations and international agencies, which is paramount in consideration of the global nature of pandemics. Finally this WP will also explore potential future exploitation of the project's foreground.

Its main objectives are:

  • disseminating project results;
  • networking;
  • promoting the exploitation of the project's foreground.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Leader: Vitamib (France)

Objectives

The overall objectives of this WP are:

  • to report to, and to liaise with, the Commission;
  • to ensure effective financial and administrative management of the project and quality control of project activities and results.