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Learner Reviews & Feedback for COVID-19 Contact Tracing by Johns Hopkins University

4.9
stars
94,966 ratings

About the Course

The COVID-19 crisis has created an unprecedented need for contact tracing across the country, requiring thousands of people to learn key skills quickly. The job qualifications for contact tracing positions differ throughout the country and the world, with some new positions open to individuals with a high school diploma or equivalent. In this introductory course, students will learn about the science of SARS-CoV-2 , including the infectious period, the clinical presentation of COVID-19, and the evidence for how SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted from person-to-person and why contact tracing can be such an effective public health intervention. Students will learn about how contact tracing is done, including how to build rapport with cases, identify their contacts, and support both cases and their contacts to stop transmission in their communities. The course will also cover several important ethical considerations around contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine. Finally, the course will identify some of the most common barriers to contact tracing efforts -- along with strategies to overcome them....

Top reviews

NN

Apr 12, 2021

presented in easily digestable snippets,really wonderful course,i loved the part about building rapport and communication startegies because i can honestly see them being applied in different aspects.

JR

Jun 11, 2020

Excellent Course ! Very thorough and presented in an interesting delivery of educational information. Thank you to Dr. Emily S. Gurley for this outstanding contribution to keeping our society healthy!

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101 - 125 of 10,000 Reviews for COVID-19 Contact Tracing

By Subhasree D

Aug 4, 2020

I CAN'T RECEIVED MY CERTIFICATE

By Kathleen r

May 24, 2020

Wheres my certificate?

By Tania L M

Dec 20, 2021

Enjoyable to learn a new skill. The presenter is articulate and the explanations are well presented. The slides, notes, ability to save and take snapshots are very useful for reference later. Was particularly pleased to learn exactly what the incubation and infectious timelines are as well as how to address a case or contact about a very personal matter. Bearing the barer of bad news is not easy and this course is an eye opener as to the importance of contact tracing and how to be effective. This course gave me the skills to lives. I now know that someone who cannot speak also cannot breathe and I was able to get the ambulance to their door within minutes.

By Bander A A

May 19, 2020

It’s an honor to be part of Dr. Emily ‘s unique and pioneer course that’s rich of of science, skills, and well equipped to deal with a pandemic caused by a new mysterious corona virus. Her experince, the way she presentied this course, her rich knowledge, and good judgment made it so clear and exciting espcialy attention to small details that add a human touch when dealing with people in tough situations. She’s a moon light in this dark days and a valuable gift to humans to spread hope and top in her prestigious university.

I would like to thank her and her amazing team.

By Cheryl T

May 19, 2020

Enjoyed this informative course. As someone who develops curricula and teaches crisis management, I would have liked to see something more specific in the course about how best to disclose a positive diagnosis, as this can be hard for beginners ... dealing with the case's immediate reaction, even if it was anticipated.Also, something along the lines of "working with difficult people" in the section on complexity and people. Overall, however, I thought the course met the objectives and provided a solid foundation for a potential new contact tracer.

By Raymond L K

May 20, 2020

This was a very informative course. Some of the content contained could be worded differently. There are a few items in the communication part of the course that could come across as patronizing not empathizing. This, just in my opinion, could definitely be off putting to younger people. This is not a knock on the course or the content creators, just an aspect of society that may be encountered during the contact process. Thank you for this great course and a better understanding of COVID-19.

By Samantha G

May 20, 2020

The information was easy to understand. I preferred to use the transcript at the bottom of the slides to read and follow the information. The course is geared towards most forms of learners not really able to incorporate kinesthetic learning since it is an online course. I also like that you can reference the course once completed.

By Aditya

Jul 14, 2020

Very interactive course , with precise and to-the-point information.

It really helped me gain a good and knowledgeable insight about the COVID-19 .

Thanks Johns Hopkins University , and of course , Coursera ! Cheers.

By Karen S

May 19, 2020

This was an excellent course. The information was presented well, easy to understand and follow. The format of providing small amounts of information and then testing helped to reinforce learning.

By Anne P S

May 18, 2020

Overall, very good. The hard part was defining paraphrasing and reflecting properly. Some of your examples were not isolated enough. Like open ended questions and probing, paraphrasing and reflecting can happen in the same reply. As a point of information, latest news on surfaces contaminated by droplets is that FLOORS are carrying the virus home especially on tennis shoes (https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/19770-aerosol-transmission-of-covid-19-can-exceed-6-feet-shoes-can-spread-coronavirus-on-floors-study). Your notes: 'Surfaces may have viruses from someone’s respiratory droplets', floors are surfaces. May need to clarify primary vs secondary. Reproductive number--I had a question--from https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200510/Reproduction-number-of-COVID-19-and-how-it-relates-to-public-health-measures.aspx: 'he first reported R0 was from Wuhan, at 2.2, as a result of direct contact tracing. This became suspect due to the volume of cases, leading to the breakdown of healthcare systems and inadequate testing facilities at that stage, as well as evolving case definitions. Even today, model choice, starting conditions, and other assumptions shape the final calculation, which has led to a wide range of R0 values from 2.2–3.6 to 4.1–6.5.' Aren't we seeing higher numbers than 2.2 on average? THANKS -- I am a retired PA and Professor, I thought being a tracer could be another interesting and helpful step in my life. Be well.

By Mark B T

May 24, 2020

Overall, this was a very good course with clear lectures, relevant examples, and useful explanations and scenarios. I only have one small criticism and that is about some of the technology aspects of the lecture. Learning about technologies in China and South Korea that are unavailable to use here seemed fairly irrelevant. I can how this might be important in some situations (and perhaps later applications), but for the introductory course it seemed superfluous. The technology section in general was the weakest part of the course . . . it seems this is more sensibly delegated to training via the organization that hires the contact tracer since the protocols and available technologies will differ from region and each organization. I'd rather see more details about the virus itself and maybe even more communication strategies (esp. for example, dealing with people who refuse to isolate and believe the whole coronavirus crisis is 'fake'! Perhaps also, more of the 'unknowns,' disputed claims, or myths about the virus and its treatment and how to deal with those. But, otherwise, a very informative, clear and useful course. Thank you.

By J S

May 19, 2020

very good, learned a lot even though have kept very informed as pandemic unfolded. The improvement I would suggest is more content on dealing with objections, including role playing scene done well and not with followup analysis. Very effective mode of learning. hostile objections I would have liked to see roleplay: 1. I really don't believe this Covid cr*p. it's a hoax to increase government control. 2. President and Vice President don't have to wear masks, isolate, quit traveling, why should I? 3. My spouse doesn't believe this covid is a big deal, we are both healthy, so he will mock/criticize me and not cooperate. 4. This is the person you should be going after: I know the name of the inconsiderate person who came to meeting sick and coughed/sneezed on everyone. 5. Too many scams, especially during chaotic times, I don't want to talk to a stranger over the phone. You could be a fraud. 6. I don't have time now, and hard to catch by phone. Give me your number and I will call you back later.

By Betty A

May 14, 2020

The course is every detail and very long. The learning time needs to be extended to accommodate people with disabilities who may need time to process and learn. Other than that is a great course.

By Tieisha W

May 12, 2020

It was a very informative course. It was just super long. Take multiple breaks. I am glad the exam did not have a timer and the mini quiz questions helped as well.

By Louis

May 19, 2020

I found the mechanics of the course confusing. Why do you care if my time zone is different than yours? When I tried to correct it, there were no time zones (EDT,CST, etc.) but if I was in Ulan Bator you had my back. It became a Jeopardy question: "A city in the US Eastern Time Zone". To continue, sometimes you clicked the blue box, sometimes you needed to use "next". The choices weren't always obvious. When it came time to complete the final test, I had to refresh the browser to get to it (thanks,for noting that, but I shouldn't have to do it). When I saved my certificate the first time, it didn't have a file extension so my computer couldn't open it. I still don't know how that happened, but a download later was OK.

Structural problems aside, I thought the content was well explained, and the questions brought out the material. I would have left out the section on smart phone tracing by blue tooth contacts, since it is not in place yet, and seems impractical. (1) need everyone to have a smartphone, (2) they have to agree to be tracked (not likely w/o major privacy controls on data retention and access) (3) GPS accuracy is about 3 meters without augmentation - that would exponentially increase the false contact rate.

By Rebecca P

May 16, 2020

The course itself was very informative, but right at the beginning there is a mistake on both the slide AND the pronunciation of a particular word itself. Honestly, it had me questioning the legitimacy of the instructor’s credential, and whether the certificate would end up being an industry joke. This is a course on COVID-19 contract tracing, you should know how to pronounce and spell the word “polymerase”. Polymerase Chain Reaction is THE test that is finding positive cases, so it’s vital information. If this is not the professor’s area of expertise, that’s fine, but then you should be using a public health or molecular biology professional to narrate the course. You can do better.

By Eduardo G C

May 14, 2020

Too basic.

By Thomas A

May 16, 2020

I took this course 2 days before my interview and passed now they want me to take it again for the position but since I took it the website will not let me take it again. Help ASAP have to take again within 48 hours

By William A

May 26, 2020

Your communication terms were absolutely fungible and completely unsupported in the context of the answers to the assessment questions in this module.

By Dr. L A G

Jul 2, 2020

Test questions too difficult. Keep answer choices simple instead of "select all that apply".

By Patsy L G

May 31, 2020

The was excellent !!

By Mary Q

May 29, 2020

(I hope this is not a second review, I started one and clicked something and the box went away.)

I thought the course was great--very straight forward, easy to follow, great to be able to do independently at my own pace. I appreciated the variable length of videos and quizzes as that helped to keep my attention. I liked the prompt when I had been off it for a few days. And what I most appreciated was being able to go back and access the videos for a second time, which I did before my final.

My only two criticisms were the following:

1) Probably too small to mention but I did notice that there were a few times, mostly in the quizzes where the pronoun "their" was used instead of he or she when referring to an individual.

2) On the final assessment, one of the "choose all that apply" question where I received partial credit for not marking all was the one that was phrased something like, "What is the purpose of Contact Tracing?" And the one answer that I looked at and thought about a bit read something like, "To inform cases about the the medical information of COVID 19." And while there is medical component to it I also remembered content in the training about not answering specific medical questions but referring the case to their provider. I think that answer could be better written for the sake of clarity.

Final feedback, though I scored high and passed on my first try, if there could be a function that allowed someone who may pass on the first try to get a directive on which videos to go back and watch. Meaning if a test taker got all the questions on a particular module wrong, the system would prompt them which videos to go back and review. Yes, that should be obvious, but it might be encouraging to someone to have some direction and encouragement as to where to improve.

Overall, a wonderful experience.

By John R F J

May 25, 2020

What a great course. It was well presented and the videos were quite helpful. I was hoping for 100% because I felt that I truly GOT the material. The question about reflection vs paraphrasing I think could have gone either way. Also I had heard from a doctor that Covid 19 could be transmitted from your shoes, but to be fair this information was not in the course. My bad for listening to hearsay.

Overall I felt very good and confident about taking the test.

As a personal note, my Dad currently has COVID 19. He has been in a nursing home for the last year and was diagnosed 13 days ago. He has been asymptomatic during the last 13 days, as I have spoken with him and the nursing staff everyday. I know the anxiety people go through during this time. And I feel very empathetic about those who have themselves or loved ones contracted the virus. This is caused me to want to take this course and become a contact tracer moving forward. It has definitely hit home for me and my family.

Finally, I am retired, and have been in sales and management my entire professional career. I’d like to start as a Contact Tracer and move into a supervisory roll as soon as possible. thank you again for a fantastic course. I look forward to helping stop this virus, or at least slowing it down.

All the best and stay healthy.

By Stella O

Jun 17, 2020

The course was excellent. The instructions and videos were exceptional. The course material was well prepared. I learned a lot about how to communicate about sensitive issues to anyone. Also, the course teaches the power of listening. I enjoyed the course ,and for me personally, it removed a lot of mystery about the COVID-19 Tracing procedures. The amazing thing about this course and what makes it exceptional in comparison to other course that teach about COVID-19 is that it explains the difference between isolation and quarantine very well. Until I took this course, I did not know the difference between the two. I thought that both were the same. I am glad that after all the hard work, a certificate was offered for the course. I was able to attain a certificate that I can add to the list of achievements on my resume, and that is shareable with my LinkedIn profile. Also, the certificate was free. Rarely does Coursera offer certificates for free courses. I applaud their decision to do so for this course.

By Michael K

May 29, 2020

The one question I missed (96.87%) was adding the third correct answer for why you need to establish rapport. I did not include the answer "to help educate about Covid-19" because the course work said to refer contacts and cases to their MD for medical questions. Obviously, I read into too much in to that question because yes (and I considered this, a contact is more likely to accept and respond to the information you provide symptoms, isolation, quarantine, etc., if you established a rapport but I was not sure that the question was including that type of information under "education" or if it was referring to related medical advice. I might suggest interjecting the phrase education limited to general information (non medical advise) somehow into to that question. Maybe I will take again to get my 100! :)