This course was very informative, clear, and concise. I greatly appreciated the availability of such content during a time such as this and I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn more about the basics of COVID-19 and who wants to understand what is being done to control the spread of such a disease. This course went beyond what I thought it would and the fact that effective communication skills were covered was definitely an added plus.

Practical even if online. I have had an additional skill for life as to contact tracing any time any where. I like that they went inadept into teaching about confidentiality and privacy in the health sector practice, as well as easing the minds of your case and contact when you start talking to them, as the aim of this contact tracing which has long been done in the past is to help control the spread of infectious disease and keep the general public safe.

This course was extremely informative. I feel confident that I will be an effective Community Support Specialist. The goal of learning how to balance all concerns that surround contact tracing is clear. Most important - this series is empowering as a tool for understanding the mechanics and technology necessary for community public health. I have a strong sense of accomplishment for being able to provide information that will save lives in my community.

This was a very interesting and thought provoking lesson. I prefer the method of testing that was used earlier in the course versus the pop-up screens used later in the course. It was more difficult to read and assess the information with the pop-up because it was not all visible on the screen at one time. In general, I thought the professor was clear and concise. Whether or not I am hired, I feel that I learned a lot from this experience. Thank you.

I've been out of work for several months. My agent advised me of an opening for a Contact Tracer position. I told her about my experience here at Coursera as well as my course work for Contact Tracing. I may not have been considered otherwise, but I sent my Course Completion Certificate to my agent and my resume just shot me to the top of the short list! I am indebted to John Hopkins Hospital and Coursera for making this course available. Thank you!

This was a well organized course that had valuable content and was taught in a very effective manner. My only criticism involves the "interviewing" skills portion. Some of the techniques offered are artifacts from 1970s humanistic psychology and psychotherapy and not particularly effective. In fact, some techniques are probably patronizing and counterproductive. However, the overall course was valuable and another very productive Coursera offering.

This course gave me a clear idea of the current pandemic situation of SARS-CoV-2. It helped me understand the importance and information about a contact tracer. I will use this information to enrich the knowledge of the iliterate and for the well-being of the society.I would like to appreciate the effort taken by John Hopkins through the Coursera platform to help individuals learn about this course free of cost and in the most effective way.

Thank You!!

This information is so vital for people to understand what to do during the pandemic crisis that we are facing. People must know what resources are available and whom they can contact just in case they become infected or know someone who might be. I liked the course and look forward to being able to work for an organization where I can apply the knowledge learned through this program. Thank you for making it available to all of us that are interested.

Excellent course. There were a few things that I found nebulous such as when quizzed about (say 8 minute in a case's house (most likely touching a few knobs (entry doors or doors to other rooms, bathroom), etc., -I thought at risk). Overall great course and I learned a lot. I probably put too much into the questions that I missed. Thank you for providing this free education to all! A very valued community resource that I hope many take advantage of!!

This course is led well, easy to understand, and paced in a comfortable manner. Some of the review tests seem redundant and just act as place holders or attention checks. Some of the wording of getting into the emotional side of things is confusing and misdirected in a purely psychological sense.

10/10, would recommend this course to anyone looking to get an introduction into Contact Tracing as well as the social approach to communicating with cases.

With this pandemic going on, I found this course really helpful in seeing what are the different layers in trying to combat COVID-19 and it showed that Contact Tracing can play a huge role in reducing the transmission of the virus. From this, I'm glad that I was able to take to the course to potentially help with this pandemic as a Contact Tracing and to educate myself about what current public health effort looks like. Thank you for the opportunity!

This is an informative course to understand and process everything we've been hearing in the news about COVID-19. Dr. Gurley's course outlines the history and definition of coronavirus, as well as symptoms, technical terms, and reasons why contact tracing is important for the public good. Her clear and direct explanations, along with her calming tone, model the manner in which contact tracers should speak with potential cases and contacts. Excellent!

The COVID-19 Contact Tracing course is very aptly designed to make us understand the need of the hour. It is giving confidence that we can become COVID WARRIORS , by safeguarding through our help to the community &, state . Knowing the process & Helping to reduce this COVID-19 , WILL GIVE A VERY GOOD SATISFACTION. Thanks for making us knowledgeable about this peculiar virus in such a understandable methodology.

Lion N Raghu Rami Reddy

HYDERABAD, INDIA

This course was clear, comprehensive, and divided in a way that made learning the material easier to digest and review. I'm very appreciative to Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Emily Gurley for putting this course together. I highly recommend taking this course, not only for potential future job positions in contact tracing, but also for much-needed clarification as to the incubation period, infectious period, and other factors related to COVID-19.

After 35 year working with high risk youth and families I formed my own style and ways to communicate.

It was so helpful to be reminded about the words we use and the importance of choosing those words at the right time. The course was well done and has important information that would be helpful to so many. Amy was awesome in her communication and was a reminder of how important it is.

Thanks for a great opportunity,

Karen McArthur, Rochester NY

I work at a college and assist our Board of Health with contract tracing. I knew and understood the basics prior to taking the course, but found the modules on the ethics of contact tracing and technology; public good; skills for effective communication; and addressing process complexities very helpful. I feel like I have extra quivers for my bow. Dr. Gurley was an engaging instructor and I really enjoyed the vignettes on the contact tracing calls!

No conocia esta area de trabajo, y esta propuesta de COURSERA me resulto novedosa, tanto el curso como su metodologia me parecieron excelentes, espero poder implementar mis conocimientos al respecto en mi pais. Lo recomiendo ampliamente ya que ademas de la informacion tecnica (todo lo referente al COVID-19) tambien te capacita para ser mas humano sin dejar de lado la etica y la responsabilidad al desempeñarte como Contact Tracing en tu comunidad.

What an amazing free educational opportunity this was. This was my first attempt at learning online! I was nervous from the moment I started until I got my grade on the final exam!! Thank you Professor Emily Gurly Your calm voice was what a student like me needed!! Thankm you John Hopkins for this opportunity!! I feel like I can be of assistance to the communities I serve.

Morris Singletary

Founder/Executive Director

The PoZitive2poSItive Initiative

I appreciate John Hopkins University for taking an initiation to educate us about COVID-19. Personally, I was unaware about the disease and was worried more about my family and my loved ones and wanted to help my community in this depressive situation. While studying this course I got to know a lot of things and I am going to forward this knowledge to my closed ones and the people living in the community to take the preventive measures to be safe.

The course was easy to follow and informative. It was a lot of information and the step-by-step video instructions was excellent. I'm not very good with computers; however, I was able to follow the course material and take notes. I'm usually better with a workbook type of studying; however, utilizing my notes and being able to slow the pace helped me through this course. Thank you for making it less difficult and user friendly. Best health to you.

Great course, very clear and easy. Learned a lot about this disease. The only thing I don't know how you can expect the case to know all their contact date of birth, address and full name. Especially DOB! And you are supposed to verify their id by date of birth? Another problem is to ask all those involve to dhave the app to use technology to facilitate the process will be a problem. Contact tracer job to me will be a very challenging one.

This is not a simple subject. I really appreciate how the course information was structured and presented. I feel I have a solid foundation of basic knowledge to build on. I learned more than I expected to. The course was rigorous. I have let my state know I'm now available for additional training and employment as a contact tracer. I believe that having a certificate from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is valuable and noteworthy.

Excellence course! The Professor's communication (voice- tone and pitch) was outstanding and easy to comprehend. She displayed good energy, illustrations/examples and was very detailed. She provided a thorough understanding of COVID-19, its origin, how and why it's contagious, how it spreads and how to limit the spread and why it's so important to have the contact tracing in place. I would gladly take any online course taught by Dr. Emily Gurley.

I like the flexibility that comes with taking the course modules. There are reviews and a quiz at the end of each module to build confidence in learning the material. Thank you Johns Hopkins University for offering an important, free course to the public to learn more about what to do if someone has been possibly exposed to someone who tested positive with Covid 19 in general, or for people who may want to work in the field of Contact Tracing.

This contact tracing course was the most comprehensive one that I have taken. The instruction was excellent and concise. The concepts were explained in a way that I could visualize myself completing an interview successfully. The example scenarios showed to me some of the ways an interview could be the most accurate and how the use of empathic listening, active listening, and honest expression help to establish a good rapport with a case/contact.