Confusion about COVID-19 has muddled emergency responses in many communities. How we perceive the crisis, who we listen to, and what information we trust affects the decisions we make, the public policies we support, and our collective ability to curb the spread of disease.

SCR is already helping science communicators build public understanding and drive positive impacts.

Your gift to the SCR will help us expand our work within and beyond the campus community.

You’ll be helping:

U.S. Communities: In mid-February 2020, the SCR collected the nation’s earliest baseline data on public reactions to the pandemic. We need your help to collect additional data about how people understand and use COVID-19 medical data including about vaccines. This research can help communities across the nation streamline their response to public emergencies.

UO Students, Faculty, and Staff: Will students returning to campus protect themselves—and the rest of the UO community—from COVID-19? How can we help them understand the risks and take the necessary precautions?

The SCR will test COVID-19 messaging for undergrads to find out which communications work and which ones backfire. We’ll focus on safety practices such as:

• Wearing masks
• Physical distancing
• Doing self-health checks before leaving the house
• Agreeing to COVID-19 testing to determine disease prevalence
• Making good decisions about immunity testing
• Getting vaccinated

Locally, your gift can help save the lives of students, faculty members, staff, and the greater community. Nationally, it can help policymakers bring COVID-19 under control.