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Digital Citizen Science for Responding to COVID-19 Crisis: Experiences from Iran

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  • Hossein Vahidi

    (EcoGIS Lab, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, Fujisawa 252-0882, Kanagawa, Japan
    Spatial Decision Making & Smart Cities Lab, Faculty of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran 15433-19967, Iran)

  • Mohammad Taleai

    (Spatial Decision Making & Smart Cities Lab, Faculty of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran 15433-19967, Iran)

  • Wanglin Yan

    (EcoGIS Lab, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, Fujisawa 252-0882, Kanagawa, Japan)

  • Rajib Shaw

    (Global Resilience Innovation Laboratory, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, Fujisawa 252-0882, Kanagawa, Japan)

Abstract

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has so far been the most severe global public health emergency in this century. Generally, citizen science can provide a complement to authoritative scientific practices for responding to this highly complex biological threat and its adverse consequences. Several citizen science projects have been designed and operationalized for responding to COVID-19 in Iran since the infection began. However, these projects have mostly been overlooked in the existing literature on citizen science. This research sheds light on the most significant online citizen science projects to respond to the COVID-19 crisis in Iran. Furthermore, it highlights some of the opportunities and challenges associated with the strengths and weaknesses of these projects. Moreover, this study captures and discusses some considerable insights and lessons learned from the failures and successes of these projects and provides solutions to overcome some recognized challenges and weaknesses of these projects. The outcomes of this synthesis provide potentially helpful directions for current and future citizen science projects—particularly those aiming to respond to biological disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Hossein Vahidi & Mohammad Taleai & Wanglin Yan & Rajib Shaw, 2021. "Digital Citizen Science for Responding to COVID-19 Crisis: Experiences from Iran," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-34, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:18:p:9666-:d:635051
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ariyaningsih & Rajib Shaw, 2023. "Community-Based Approach for Climate Resilience and COVID-19: Case Study of a Climate Village (Kampung Iklim) in Balikpapan, Indonesia," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-18, March.
    2. Thanatorn Chuenyindee & Ardvin Kester S. Ong & Yogi Tri Prasetyo & Satria Fadil Persada & Reny Nadlifatin & Thaninrat Sittiwatethanasiri, 2022. "Factors Affecting the Perceived Usability of the COVID-19 Contact-Tracing Application “Thai Chana” during the Early COVID-19 Omicron Period," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-16, April.
    3. Nader Ghotbi, 2022. "The COVID-19 Pandemic Response and Its Impact on Post-Corona Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management in Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-13, November.

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