From behavioural data to policy: How iCARE informed Canada’s pandemic preparedness response

Abstract In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, insights from the behavioural sciences have been shown to inform policy and messaging strategies related to infection control, which has helped alleviate potential harms associated with infection control policies and strengthened our resilience to develop adaptive patterns of behaviour during health emergencies. The international COVID-19 Awareness, Responses and Evaluation (iCARE) Study (one of the largest behavioural pandemic data collection platforms in the world), leverages frameworks, evidence and tools from the behavioural sciences to inform policy design and implementation, with the goal of addressing inequities and optimising policy acceptability, uptake and effectiveness. This presentation will share how iCARE partnered with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to collect real-time behavioural response data over the course of the pandemic, and how it was used to inform policy strategies around vaccination, testing, and prevention behaviours (e.g., isolation, mask wearing).