Effectiveness assessment of non-pharmaceutical interventions: lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic

Adrian Lison; Nicolas Banholzer; Mrinank Sharma; Sören Mindermann; H Juliette T Unwin; Swapnil Mishra; Tanja Stadler; Samir Bhatt; Neil M Ferguson; Jan Brauner; Werner Vach

doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(23)00046-4

Effectiveness assessment of non-pharmaceutical interventions: lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic

Lancet Public Health. 2023 Apr;8(4):e311-e317. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(23)00046-4.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
² Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
³ Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁴ Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁵ Medical Research Council Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Jameel Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.
⁶ Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
⁷ Medical Research Council Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Jameel Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK; Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: samir.bhatt@sund.ku.dk.
⁸ Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁹ Basel Academy for Quality and Research in Medicine, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Abstract

Effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as school closures and stay-at-home orders, during the COVID-19 pandemic has been assessed in many studies. Such assessments can inform public health policies and contribute to evidence-based choices of NPIs during subsequent waves or future epidemics. However, methodological issues and no standardised assessment practices have restricted the practical value of the existing evidence. Here, we present and discuss lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and make recommendations for standardising and improving assessment, data collection, and modelling. These recommendations could contribute to reliable and policy-relevant assessments of the effectiveness of NPIs during future epidemics.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Data Collection
Humans
Pandemics / prevention & control
Public Policy
Schools

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding