Strengthening COVID-19 campaigns and making it easier to follow

The Victorian COVID-19 response campaigns

The Victorian government's COVID-19 response included behaviour-change campaigns to minimise or stop the spread of COVID-19 and reduce transmission before people were vaccinated. 

It was trying to minimise death; this involved a lot of talking to the community via the media by politicians and health experts (education and persuasion), as well as Covid restrictions and guidance (how-to guides, ventilation videos, small business grants, etc).

The background to the behavior change response in 2020

Susan Michie’s Behaviour Change Wheel (below) is useful because it highlights sources of behaviour (based on the behaviour change COM-B model), as well as intervention functions and policy categories. 

Interventions to date (in red) have predominantly relied on restrictions (border and business closures, social distancing), education, and persuasion. Each of these interventions has been successful in large part because most Australians have had the motivation (initially fear, then concern for others, a sense of social responsibility/civic duty), capability and opportunity (green circle) to comply.

Read more about the Victorian health department 2020 behaviour change model, with a discussion with (former) Chief Health Officer (CHO) of Victoria, Professor Brett Sutton >>

I came to the COVID-19 Response campaign by accident. I originally applied for a 3-month contract in the education department with a labour hire agency. That job went to somebody else, but they asked me to apply for a very short-term “backfield job” with the Business Victoria digital team, who were publishing Victorian COVID-19 restrictions & guides (business industry content) and helping out on the new Business Victoria website built and brand refresh that they were doing at the same time.

I worked on award-winning behaviour-change campaigns, such as “Don’t Paul Us Off,” in a senior role at Zoos Victoria for 8 years. I also worked on Health campaigns when I worked at Wellways Australia (community health, such as suicide prevention, aged and disability care, including NDIS) in 2018.

My initial short-term contract kept getting extended (5 times). I then joined the government internally on the COVID-19 Communications Team, and my role expanded substantially, often making me the DJPR/DJSIR Department representative for the COVID-19 response at interdepartmental communications and digital meetings, reporting back to multiple teams. I worked extensively with the Guidance Team (the team that wrote the business and industry restrictions for Victoria), the health department, and Digital Victoria (Department of Premier and Cabinet) to improve the delivery of the COVID-19 response and make our programs work more effectively for different audience groups. I also worked with the all-government “round table” on ventilation and the behaviour research group in the Victorian state government Behavioural Insights Unit. This also involved working occasionally directly with the Chief Health Officer, Professor Brett Sutton and Deputy CHO.

The Victorian COVID-19 response felt like a war, and it was very hard work. This work was made harder by some groups in the media, some politicians, and very loud people on social media who were pushing “conspiracy theories” and misinformation. Not everything we did was perfect; some things, like locking down children's playgrounds, were not good, but we tried damn hard to try to keep the community safe and save people’s lives, and it mostly worked. 

Research by the Burnet Institute indicates that public health restrictions in Victoria from August to November 2021 averted more than 5,000 deaths and 120,000 hospital admissions.

See more about the Victorian COVID-19 Response research published in the US National Library of Medicine - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) >> https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37327657/ 

And “Why Victoria’s public health restrictions weren’t in vain” -Burnet Institute Deputy Director, Professor Margaret Hellard AM >>

Trying different approaches online

Domestic and international measures in response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) have had a significant economic and financial impact on Victoria, Australia, and the rest of the world.​​ I was the administrator (main web contact and after-hours representative) and Department representative for the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR) for all Business and Industry pages and content on Coronavirus.vic.gov.au. I worked on 4 of the 6 Melbourne Metro lockdowns and most of the Regional Victoria lockdowns.

With each lockdown, I tried to improve how we presented information (making it easier for users). In 2021, with Jane Krokos (COVID-19 Guidance Team), we redesigned the "Industry Guides" (moving from a PDF mini-book to a webpage template using Human-Centred Design. This was tested at the Industry Round Tables (with representatives from across industry and business). This work contributed to helped us win the prestigious Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR) Secretary’s Award 2021.

Moving from 22x min-book PDF guidelines, which are not user-friendly, not accessible, and hard to follow.
Moving to a new step-by-step industry guide (new web template), like a food recipe, or a how-to guide.

More accessible and clearer for people with a disability, older and tired/stressed users.
Consistent formatting, layout & style. With skip-ahead-option (using “on this page”), have more hyperlinks to guides and resources.

Plain-language word choices.
Words that more people can understand faster. Make page names, IA & website structure easier. Must-do items and highly recommended steps. The minimum requirements for Business. Tailored to that sector/industry
(reduce 15-20 pages) by cutting or move-and-link the non-industry-specific generic guides/resources  
= faster to update = so less out-of-date content

See the old page with PDFs >>
See the new template web pages >>

I was also involved in testing Service Victoria iOS App updates with the Department of Health and Digital Victoria in 2021-2022 (including location check-in and vaccine certificate). This was a Finalist 2022 Premier's Design Awards (by Service Victoria and Two Bulls). Also, in making a full site backup (my idea), bug testing and helping to shut down the site in late 2023.