Study update: Dial COVID - March 2021

This study update shares preliminary results of an R2HC study, which aims to assess uptake and validate a mobile telephone surveillance and mitigation tool (“Dial-COVID”) in refugee settlements in Uganda. The study also aims to understand refugees’ COVID-19 knowledge, risk perceptions, and barriers/facilitators to prevention and control measure adoption. Research is led by University of Washington with Infectious Diseases Institute and other partners.

The key takeaways of these preliminary findings are:

• Dial-COVID is accessed by both refugees and Ugandan nationals (internally displaced and not) living within refugee settlements and outside refugee settlements.
• Through Dial-COVID, we can disseminate public health information to hard-to-reach populations including refugees living in different refugee settlements in all four regions of Uganda.
• 57% of participants calling in to Dial-COVID report symptoms or an exposure that could be consistent with COVID-19 disease.