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_{Note: text in green identifies latest update. (See last updated time stamp at top of page.)}

How this Handbook came about

• How this Handbook came about
  • Purpose of the project
  • Target audience and scope of the project
  • Process
    • Project co-ordination
    • Content contribution
    • Product development
    • Contributors

Below we describe the process by which the handbook and accompanying Wiki was created in detail, for at least two reasons:

1. to be transparent, in particular with respect to the timeline for different stages of the project and the methodology by which the content has been developed and will be further updated.
2. to summarise the workflows and tools used, which could be useful for updating the handbook and for other, totally different projects by SciBeh or others.

Many ideas in planning this handbook come from the process report "Preregistration of methodology for document preparation" of the Debunking Handbook 2020.

Purpose of the project

The project output is a rapid resource to tackle vaccine hesitancy in the context of COVID-19 based both on well-vetted and newly emerging research. Our objective is to provide answers for urgent questions that governments, policy-makers, practitioners, and the public have with regard to combatting vaccine hesitancy.

We deliver these answers in two related products:

1. A PDF handbook of step-by-step communication recommendations specifically about COVID-19 vaccines for communicators, stakeholders, policy-makers, and the general public. The handbook summarises

   1. the principal variables that drive vaccine uptake in general;
   2. how those variables can be applied to the case of COVID-19;
   3. what anti-vaxxers do and how to respond to them; and
   4. how specific misinformation relating to the vaccine can be prebunked and debunked.

2. An online Wiki based on crowd-sourced expert evidence covering different perspectives on the problem. The PDF handbook contains links to the Wiki for additional resources. The Wiki is developed in a modular structure, using crowd-sourced expert evidence from different areas (e.g., communications, behaviour, public health, incentives, personality, and beliefs). This allows different contributors to add to sections of a living document without the need to revise the short, standalone PDF handbook. The Wiki will be regularly updated to provide the most recent evidence and new resources that emerge over time (i.e., after the PDF handbook has been typeset and published).

Target audience and scope of the project

The project targets a broad audience, including (but not limited to) governmental health organisations, intergovernmental groups, health practitioners (e.g., general practicioners), and policy-makers.

• The handbook is aimed at all types of practitioners, from physicians and nurses to journalists and people in government. The Wiki will provide a wider range of information and resources that these bodies and also members of the public can consult.
• The precise scope of coverage of the handbook was determined through the process described below.
• The scope of the Wiki is much wider than that of the PDF handbook, to allow for broader perspectives on the issue to be captured. These broader perspectives were, and will continue to be added according to the process described below.

Process

This section documents the process of gathering content.

Project co-ordination

This is a SciBeh initiative. The "core team" members (see SciBeh's project co-ordinators) are responsible for co-ordinating the project, assigning tasks, and overseeing production and updates of the final outputs (PDF and Wiki).

Content contribution

Creating the PDF Handbook

1. Outline of handbook contents. An outline for the topics to be covered was set out by the "handbook co-ordinators" in a collaborative document (using Google Docs). This outline also forms the skeleton to begin building the accompanying Wiki. Contributions were requested from:
   • Authors of key papers and technical reports about vaccine hesitancy and pre-/debunking (see the 2020 Debunking handbook).
   • Participants of the SciBeh hackathon on combatting COVID-19 misinformation.
2. Feedback on handbook topics and structure. Based on the proposed outline, feedback was sourced from contributors. The feedback was incorporated into a finalised draft of the outline.
3. Handbook text. Based on the finalised outline of topics, "handbook authors" drawn from the requested contributors (see point 1 above) were assigned to produce sections of content for inclusion. To match contributors' interests and expertise to the handbook topics, we used an online tool called SimpleAssign.
4. Finalisation of handbook content. "Handbook co-ordinators" reviewed the content prior to finalising for type setting.

Creating the Wiki

1. Skeleton outline. The "Wiki co-ordinators" created a skeleton outline for the Wiki to match that of the handbook. They started out by creating wiki pages for each of the "further resources" links in the PDF handbook and then added further pages for additional and broader concepts and a broader concept map proposing modules for wider perspectives related to the topics in the handbook to be interlinked in the Wiki.

2. Stage 1 content contribution. To populate the basic Wiki skeleton, "Wiki co-ordinators" gathered an eclectic evidence base by consulting:

   • SciBeh's Knowledge Base
   • Further links in the sources cited in the handbook
   • Resources recommended by "handbook authors"
   • Participants of the SciBeh hackathon on combatting COVID-19 misinformation
   • A call for relevant evidence and/or authoring contributions to the Wiki will be put out on SciBeh's research discussion reddit (BehSciResearch)

3. Expanded outline. Through the evidence gathering process, "Wiki co-ordinators" invited experts to be "Wiki authors", with the task to convert the evidence into user-friendly Wiki content. To match "Wiki authors"' interests and expertise to the Wiki pages, we used an online tool called SimpleAssign.

4. Feedback (currently in progress). "Wiki co-ordinators" will gather feedback from Wiki users through two channels:

   1. Feedback solicited from specific organisations that SciBeh is liaising with: European Commission, OECD, WHO, UNICEF, Robert Koch Institute (Germany), UK Cabinet Office.
   2. User polls integrated into the Wiki site.

   This feedback from the different target audiences will be used to inform the development of modules that address different use cases, improvements to presentation, and inform the development of new modules for related topics and disciplines.

5. Further expansion (currently in progress). "Wiki co-ordinators" and "Wiki authors" will monitor updates and new resources to be added to relevant modules in the Wiki during the whole of 2021 (and possibly beyond). A call for additional, relevant evidence and/or authoring contributions to the Wiki will be put out on SciBeh's research discussion reddit (BehSciResearch).

Product development

PDF Handbook

The finalised, typeset handbook forms the static version of this project, containing links to the Wiki for further resources, updates, and developments.

Wiki

1. Skeleton framework. The "web design" team created a Wiki landing page and skeleton framework of module pages to host the links identified in the handbook outline. As the prototype version of the Wiki accompaning the handbook launch, we implemented this using HackMD.
2. Organisation of modules. The "Wiki co-ordinators" decided how to best structure modules (comprising of pages with content/resources) to display relevant information.
3. Co-ordination with content authors. Interested authors for the Wiki identified through the content contribution process were assigned to specific pages in their modules. They were invited to the dedicated HackMD team space to produce the relevant Wiki pages.
4. Use case design (currently in progress). Development for different types of users to quickly access the most relevant knowledge (e.g., policy makers need a more concise summary than researchers looking to build on evidence).
5. Link to ongoing discussions (currently in progress). Integrate with Twitter and Reddit to capture ongoing vaccine-related discussions.
6. Expanding the wiki (currently in progress)

Contributors

See here for handbook and wiki contributors.

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_{Page contributors: Stefan Herzog, Dawn Holford, Stephan Lewandowsky}

Return to COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Handbook & Wiki entry page

_{Note: text in green identifies latest update. (See last updated time stamp at top of page.)}

_{This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 964728 (JITSUVAX).}

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