*1.2. Decision-Making in the COVID-19 Crisis and Public Health Strategies*

During the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals worked under high levels of uncertainty. Soon a pressing need emerged to translate knowledge into practice more efficiently, with rapid assessment and dissemination of scientific evidence to guide decision-making [6]. Some studies found that bringing together experts from academia, science and clinical practice to search for and summarize information of high scientific quality was effective for informed decision-making [7]. However, knowledge was not only needed by clinical and public health decision-makers as the general population also had a compelling information need to make the best choices for their health. In addition, an 'infodemic' led to confusion and distrust in health workers weakening public health responses [8].

Moreover, the continuous demand for efforts from the population to comply with the requirements and recommendations to improve the epidemiological and health situation (for example, confinements, social distancing, travel restrictions, cuts in benefits, vaccination, etc.) also required efforts to convey information clearly and understandably. However, with the passage of time, the transmission of information and the training of citizens from the public administrations became increasingly complex, a circumstance that especially affected the most vulnerable groups [9], and the first signs of "pandemic fatigue" in the general population began to show. This is why the WHO urged the inclusion of four recommendations in dissemination campaigns and actions summarized in Figure 1 [10].
