Real-Time Rumor Tracking for COVID-19: System Design and Implementation Guide

"Risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) are critical to building trust and arresting the spread of rumors."

Uncertainty around the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV- has led to the propagation of unverified pieces of information that spread rapidly - either by people sharing them in good faith (misinformation) or by those who intend to harm others (disinformation). Real-time rumour tracking (RT2) is the process of systematically collecting, analysing, visualising, and addressing such rumours in real time. This guide provides an overview of the role of rumours in a public health or humanitarian emergency and describes the community-based RT2 approach taken by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Breakthrough ACTION project during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This document is written for humanitarian or public health organisations and national governments seeking to document rumours in a systematic and dynamic fashion. It focuses on community-based correspondents (CBCs), who are an existing cadre of personnel connected to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the health system, or traditional leadership system. That is, CBCs may be community health workers (CHWs), local radio hosts with call-in shows, NGO staff who do community-based work, or community/traditional leaders. They are typically unpaid, yet still receive a brief training on recognising and reporting rumours they hear in the course of their daily activities.

The document elucidates the RT2 approach, which uses the District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2) open source software platform, a secure web server and data collection, storage, management, and analysis platform used in over 60 countries, including by several ministries of health for reporting, analysis, and visualisation of surveillance data.

The guide outlines the following steps:

• Component A: Build the Software Platform
• Component B: Recruit and Train a Network of Community-Based Correspondents
• Component C: Data Managers Record and Code Rumors and Display Them in Real Time
• Component D: Those Working in RCCE Use Rumor Data to Inform the COVID-19 Response

Having outlined ethical considerations (respect for persons, beneficence, and justice), the guide offers a pre-configured metadata package that can be installed on a new DHIS2 system or imported to an existing system.

While this guide and the associated DHIS2 package were developed for COVID-19, rumours play a role in a variety of public health issues. In any such context, RT2 may provide "a unique opportunity for dynamic two-way communication with communities."