PubliCo - PubliCo - an experimental online platform for COVID-19 related public perception
Project Abstract
Effective public health measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic require cooperation between governments and society. For this to happen, political decision-makers must be aware of how the population perceives the Corona crisis, and the political decisions taken must be comprehensible to the public in order to be acceptable.
The aim of the project is to set up and operate the interactive online platform “PubliCo”, which is being developed together with scientists from various disciplines, communication and design experts, and citizens. With a set of questions tailored to the situation the public perception is assessed: How are the risk of infection and the accompanying measures perceived? How are measures like contact tracing and physical distancing accepted over a longer time period? What moral conflicts exist when it comes to who should first have access to a newly developed vaccine? What are the implication of the Covid-19 crisis on people’s everyday life, e.g. in their work environment or in interpersonal relationships?
The project is led by the Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine (IBME) at the University of Zurich in collaboration with the Society, Gender and Health Unit at Swiss TPH. Swiss TPH is responsible for the citizen science component where different people report on their Covid-19-related experiences and reflections. This data is continuously analyzed, contributing to the setting of priorities for research and action.
