ABOUT COPAR

Strategies to motivate, enhance and monitor personal behaviours for long-term COVID-19 prevention are an important challenge for healthcare workers, especially as the epidemic continues. Currently, the epidemic is characterised by invisible transmission chains, an increased number of asymptomatic carriers, and community outbreaks. Many COVID-19 cases occur in the community, indicating poor compliance with social distancing regulations in certain Hong Kong (HK) populations. While the government has disseminated educational materials to the public, it is unclear how many people are fully aware of this information and why some do not accept the suggestions made. People with different cultural, professional or living backgrounds may have different reasons for non-adherence, and their opinions may change with changes in their external environment. Thus, a single fixed intervention may not be suitable to adapt to changing conditions. Quick, simple and flexible community-based health education projects would be the most appropriate choice to solve this issue. Given such an emergent situation, multiple community-engaged efforts are needed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Increase early testing and promote the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in the community; Increase COVID-19-related health literacy and vaccine literacy among minority ethnic groups, chronically ill populations and caregivers; Strengthen the public’s motivation to stay at home and avoid nonessential high-risk social activities; Decrease COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy; and Enhance the adherence to COVID-19-related hygiene practices and the uptake of early testing in school children.

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach: collaborating with various community stakeholders to develop and implement the interventions.