Paper published in Social Science & Medicine about the PVE Dutch long-term COVID-19 strategy

A paper has been published on PVE in Social Science & Medicine called "Stepping into the shoes of the policy maker: Results of a Participatory Value Evaluation for the Dutch long term COVID-19 strategy" written by, among others Niek Mouter, Karen Trujillo, and José Ignacio Hernández.

The COVID-19 outbreak early 2020 was followed by an unprecedented package of measures. The relative calmness of the pandemic early 2022 provides a momentum to prepare for various scenarios. As acceptance of COVID-19 measures is key for public support citizens’ preferences towards imposing measures in four scenarios were investigated. Study 1 comprised a Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) in which 2011 respondents advised their government on which measures to impose in the four scenarios. Respondents received information regarding the impact of each measure on the risk that the health system would be overloaded. 

The results suggest that policies that focus on prevention (through advising low-impact hygiene measures) and early response to moderate threats (by scaling up to moderately restrictive measures and boostering) can count on substantial support. There is low support for lockdown measures even under high-risk conditions, which further emphasizes the importance of prevention and a timely response to new threats. The results imply that young citizens’ concerns, in particular, should be addressed when restrictive COVID-19 measures are to be implemented.