Open Database for NPIs

This wide variety of infection control strategies and measures has been documented and analysed by an international team of researchers (Desvars-Larrive et al. 2020), resulting in the creation of a structured open dataset called the ‘Complexity Science Hub COVID-19 Control Strategies List’ (CCCSL).

Started in mid-March 2020, the CCCSL dataset aims to improve the current knowledge on country-based interventions implemented to mitigate the burden of COVID-19. Through this database project, governments, health authorities and researchers will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of various strategies and policies to contain the COVID-19 epidemic, e.g. the epidemic growth rate or the daily reproduction numbers.

CCCSL includes a specific hierarchical coding scheme for NPIs. These codes provide an easy way to visualise the dataset. Based on the review of mitigation strategies (NPIs), eight themes – called level 1 (L1) in the coding scheme – were identified and labelled by the research team: (i) Case identification, contact tracing and related measures; (ii) Environmental measures; (iii) Healthcare and public health capacity; (iv) Resource allocation; (v) Risk communication; (vi) Social distancing; (vii) Travel restriction; and (viii) Returning to normal life.