COVID-19: Simple Answers to Top Questions Risk Communication Field Guide Questions and Key Messages
This document, intended for SBC practitioners, is the fifth edition of COVID-19: Simple Answers to Top Questions. It is an updated version of the original document published on March 10, 2020. With the rapid evolution of knowledge and policy regarding COVID-19, future revisions will be produced on an ongoing basis.
The document is based on message maps and follows the belief that state health officials need both short and long answers. Messages are presented initially in no more than 3-5 short sentences and convey 3-5 key messages, ideally in the least number of words possible.
The approach is based on surveys showing that lead or front-page media and broadcast stories usually convey only the soundbite: 3-5 messages usually in less than 9 seconds for broadcast media or 27 words for print. Each primary message normally has 3 to 5 supporting messages that can be used when and where appropriate to provide context for the issue being mapped. A brief description of the message mapping strategy is in the Appendices. In the following pages, you will find 60+ top questions about COVID-19 answered with detailed message maps.

- YouTube as a Source of Information on COVID-19: A Pandemic of Misinformation?
- Actions to Support Media, Enhance Access to Information, and Leverage Digital Technologies in the Fight Against the Pandemic
- Building Trust while Influencing Online COVID-19 Content in the Social Media World
- KAP COVID: Exploring Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices for COVID-19 Prevention
- Practical Guidance for Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) for Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Migrants, and Host Communities Particularly Vulnerable to COVID-19 Pandemic
- Active Case Finding with Case Management: the Key to Tackling the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Technical Brief: Creating a Real-Time Rumor Management System for COVID-19
- COVID-19: Resources to Address Gender-based Violence Risks
- COVID-19: The Gendered Impacts of the Outbreak
- COVID-19: Rethinking Risk
- Atelier d’évaluation et de ré-planification du plan d’action opérationnel intégré de la communication de risque 2020
- Questions and Answers: Adolescents, Youth and COVID-19
- Children's and Caretakers' Animation Series on COVID-19
- Guide for the Preparation of a Risk Communication Strategy for COVID-19 Vaccines: A Resource for the Countries of the Americas
- IAS Conference E-posters
August 23, 2020