What are your opinions on the COVID-19 pandemic? Sask. researchers want to know.
Saskatchewan residents can have their say about COVID-19 public health measures through a series of five-minute surveys.
“We’re really trying to capture the public's voice and their viewpoints when it comes to the COVID-19 outbreak,” Dr. Patrick Seitzinger, a physician and University of Saskatchewan School of Public Health graduate, said in a news release.
“As public health researchers and practitioners, we aim to create public health messages and guidelines that are evidence based. The other big piece is the public's understanding — making sure that our messaging isn't just accurate, but that it's also effective.
Participants can complete the simple surveys through a smartphone app.
Results will help to guide the province’s public health strategies for the COVID-19 pandemic and future outbreaks, the university says.
“I realize that the viewpoints of the public are diverse,” Seitzinger said in the release. “To me, it's really necessary to understand what's going on in the minds of the people across Saskatchewan so that we can make sure that our public health strategies align with the specific needs of the population.”
If users enable the location data feature, GPS data will help researchers understand the population’s trends and their movement patterns across the province.
“The location information can provide a lot of context about the risk of disease spread without being invasive,” said another member of the research team, Cheryl Waldner.
“It is not about tracking individuals and seeing where each individual is going — it’s about how movement patterns are changing over time.”
Any Saskatchewan adult who has access to a smartphone or computer with internet access can join the study, which will be open between June and October 2021.
Participants will complete one short survey per day for the study’s first five days to collect baseline information on risk perceptions, behaviours and knowledge about COVID-19.
In subsequent weeks, participants will complete two mini-surveys to gauge any changes in mask use practices, social contacts and COVID-19 vaccination viewpoints.
If participants experience COVID-related symptoms, the surveys will also seek to understand the respondents’ experience with the illness and any long-term health effects.
The researchers plan to publish their findings in an academic journal and share results with Saskatchewan resident, the release said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.