The remaining unknowns: A mixed methods study of the current and global health research priorities for COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction In March 2020 the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a Global Research Roadmap in an effort to coordinate and accelerate the global research response to combat COVID-19 based on deliberations of 400 experts across the world. Three months on, the disease and our understanding have both evolved significantly. As we now tackle a pandemic in very different contexts and with increased knowledge, we sought to build on the work of the WHO to gain a more current and global perspective on these initial priorities. Methods We undertook a mixed methods study seeking the views of the global research community to i) assess which of the early WHO roadmap priorities are still most pressing; ii) understand whether they are still valid in different settings, regions or countries; and iii) identify any new emerging priorities. Results Thematic analysis of the significant body of combined data shows the WHO roadmap is globally relevant, however, new important priorities have emerged, in particular, pertinent to low and lower-middle income countries (less resourced countries), where health systems are under significant competing pressures. We also found a shift from prioritising vaccine and therapeutic development towards a focus on assessing the effectiveness, risks, benefits and trust in the variety of public health interventions and measures. Our findings also provide insight into temporal nature of these research priorities, highlighting the urgency of research that can only be undertaken within the period of virus transmission, as well as other important research questions but which can be answered outside the transmission period. Both types of studies are key to help combat this pandemic but also importantly to ensure we are better prepared for the future. Conclusion We hope these findings will help guide decision making across the broad research system including the multi-lateral partners, research funders, public health practitioners, clinicians and civil society.

Economic and social impacts of COVID-19 and public health measures: results from an anonymous online survey in Thailand, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Italy and Slovenia

“…Our findings provide an indication of the social groups who may be most in need of support during pandemics, so that existing social inequalities are not perpetuated and worsened. Lastly, in order to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19, we need effective communication 19 , and our data can help to inform future strategies.…”

“…Here we report the highlights of an online survey conducted in Southeast Asia (Thailand and Malaysia, both upper middle-income countries), and Europe (the United Kingdom, Italy and Slovenia, all high-income countries) between May 1 to June 30, 2020 as part of the mixed-methods study ‘Social, ethical and behavioural aspects of COVID-19’ (SEBCOV) 18 . These findings help to address an evidence gap as identified by the global research community in a recent study on COVID-19 research priorities 19 , which identified public health messaging, compliance and trust in public health interventions, and evaluation of these interventions in varied settings as areas of high priority 19 .…”

Funding and COVID-19 Research Priorities - Are the research needs for Africa being met?

“…Research projects were mapped to the nine WHO broad research priory areas and corresponding sub-priorities and research priorities for Africa and less-resourced countries (14). The detailed methodology for data coding onto the Tracker is outlined in the LSR protocol.…”

“…In May 2020, a further collaborative effort between the United Kingdom Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR), AAS and the Global Health Network (TGHN) led to a mixed methods study to determine the R&D priorities for COVID-19 by building on both the WHO Roadmap and the prior AAS study, with a special focus on less-resourced countries. This study found several WHO research priorities which required greater research emphasis and, more importantly, outlined new research priority areas which were not captured in either the WHO framework or the AAS study (14).…”

Intense and Mild Wave of COVID-19 in The Gambia: a Cohort Analysis

“…Importantly, COVID-19 severe disease seems to occur less frequently in Africa than in the rest of the world (4). Several factors have been proposed to explain this.…”