Symptom Survey

The COVID-19 symptom surveys are designed to help policymakers and health researchers better monitor and forecast the spread of COVID-19.

Features

Symptom Surveys

In partnership with University of Maryland’s Joint Program in Survey Methodology and Carnegie Mellon University’s Delphi Research Group, we invite people on Facebook to participate in surveys that ask about how they are feeling, including any symptoms they or members of their household have experienced and their risk factors for contracting COVID-19.

Privacy

The surveys are designed to provide valuable information to help monitor and forecast how COVID-19 may be spreading, without trading off the privacy of the people who took the surveys. Facebook does not share who took the surveys with our academic partners, and they do not share individual survey responses with us.

Global Reach

With over 2 billion people on Facebook, we are in a unique position to support public health research. We have partnered with trusted academic and nonprofit institutions to build a research network to address some of the world's greatest humanitarian issues. We're currently using our platform to deploy symptom surveys to support ongoing COVID-19 research and help inform public health decisions.

Local Insights

In addition to publicly available data offered by our partners, academic and nonprofit researchers around the world may request access to non-public, non-aggregated survey data for their research.

It has been very rewarding to leverage our faculty expertise in survey methodology and social data science to help connect researchers world wide with such invaluable data in real time. Our discussions with the WHO and many other organizations show clearly the need for this information.”

Dr. Frauke Kreuter, Director of the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland

Who Uses Symptom Survey Data

Policymakers

New insights can help policymakers determine where to send resources, such as ventilators and personal protective equipment, or which areas are safe to start opening again. The data can also help health systems predict needs for hospital beds.

Public health officials

Public health officials can use this data to monitor changes in population dynamics and how these affect COVID-19 cases and spread as physical distancing policies around the world begin to change.

Researchers

Researchers can use the data to study COVID-19, such as how the pandemic is affecting population movement trends, and understand which areas may be at risk of an outbreak based on population characteristics and symptoms.

Methodology

In partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and the University of Maryland (UMD), we invite people on Facebook to participate in surveys that ask about how they are feeling, including any COVID-19 symptoms they or members of their household have experienced, and about their risk factors for contracting COVID-19. To ensure that the survey sample more accurately reflects the characteristics of the population represented in the data, Facebook shares with CMU and UMD a random ID number and a single statistic, known as a weight value, that doesn’t identify a survey respondent but helps correct for survey sample bias. Facebook also shares the participant's language preference with these partners.

Case Studies

With pandemic fatigue setting in across the United States after a long year filled with uncertainty, many felt the temptation to celebrate a “normal” Thanksgiving and Christmas. Many health... With pandemic fatigue setting in across the United States after a long year filled with uncertainty, many felt the temptation to celebrate a “normal” Thanksgiving and Christmas. Many health organizations strongly discouraged large gatherings during the holidays. Delphi’s COVID-19 Surveys can provide a broader picture of the travel Americans took during the holiday season. In taking greater risks with travel, did Americans change their behaviors in other preventative measures like mask wearing during this time?

Symptom Map

Home for the Holidays? The Impact of US Holidays on Social Behaviors and Preventative Measures

With pandemic fatigue setting in across the United States after a long year filled with uncertainty, many felt the temptation to celebrate a “normal” Thanksgiving and Christmas. Many health organizations strongly discouraged large gatherings during the holidays. Delphi’s COVID-19 Surveys can provide a broader picture of the travel Americans took during the holiday season. In taking greater risks with travel, did Americans change their behaviors in other preventative measures like mask wearing during this time?

We recently released a new set of aggregated data on economic indicators, which will provide new insights into how individuals have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Economic concerns... We recently released a new set of aggregated data on economic indicators, which will provide new insights into how individuals have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Economic concerns due to COVID-19 are widespread, but it has been challenging to examine those concerns in a systematic way due to a lack of multinational data. Using our new data from the COVID-19 Symptom Survey, which addresses many of these concerns, we explored a few questions related to the prevalence and trends of economic anxiety.

Symptom Map

Data on Economic Anxiety Offer New Opportunities for Insights on the Global Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic

We recently released a new set of aggregated data on economic indicators, which will provide new insights into how individuals have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Economic concerns due to COVID-19 are widespread, but it has been challenging to examine those concerns in a systematic way due to a lack of multinational data. Using our new data from the COVID-19 Symptom Survey, which addresses many of these concerns, we explored a few questions related to the prevalence and trends of economic anxiety.

Some claim that current COVID spikes indicate that masks and social distancing do not work. To answer this question, we must first ask, are people wearing masks? Since April, Delphi has conducted... Some claim that current COVID spikes indicate that masks and social distancing do not work. To answer this question, we must first ask, are people wearing masks? Since April, Delphi has conducted daily surveys of Facebook users throughout the United States. These surveys ask respondents about their experiences during the pandemic and whether they're experiencing symptoms. Since early September we have also asked all respondents a question about mask use.

Symptom Map

Are Masks Widely Used in Public?

Some claim that current COVID spikes indicate that masks and social distancing do not work. To answer this question, we must first ask, are people wearing masks? Since April, Delphi has conducted daily surveys of Facebook users throughout the United States. These surveys ask respondents about their experiences during the pandemic and whether they're experiencing symptoms. Since early September we have also asked all respondents a question about mask use.

Over the past several months, the use of a face covering or mask has been highlighted as one of the most crucial and cost-effective mitigation measures to slow the transmission of COVID-19. Yet, our... Over the past several months, the use of a face covering or mask has been highlighted as one of the most crucial and cost-effective mitigation measures to slow the transmission of COVID-19. Yet, our understanding on the global adoption of mask-wearing behavior has been relatively inadequate. To better understand the global trends of mask usage, we used data from the International COVID-19 Symptom Survey, which is a large daily survey in partnership between The University of Maryland and Facebook Data for Good.

Symptom Map

Global Trends of Mask Usage in 19 Million Adults

Over the past several months, the use of a face covering or mask has been highlighted as one of the most crucial and cost-effective mitigation measures to slow the transmission of COVID-19. Yet, our understanding on the global adoption of mask-wearing behavior has been relatively inadequate. To better understand the global trends of mask usage, we used data from the International COVID-19 Symptom Survey, which is a large daily survey in partnership between The University of Maryland and Facebook Data for Good.

In the News

Facebook Data Help Track COVID-19 Spread Voice of America Mark Zuckerberg: How Data Can Aid in the Fight Against COVID-19 The Washington Post Mark Zuckerberg explains plans for Facebook health surveys to research and combat coronavirus ABC News Encuestas de síntomas pueden ser una herramienta útil contra covid-19 El Tiempo How symptom data can help countries reopen safely Folha de S. Paulo Encuestas de síntomas contra Covid-19 Reforma Facebook start wereldwijd onderzoek naar symptomen coronavirus Nu.NL Facebook survey could predict COVID-19 likely case load for hospitals The Irish times Facebook wants to show link to Corona survey worldwide DPA/Der Welt

Learn More

To start working with this data in a visualized format, please click below to visit the COVID-19 Interactive Map & Dashboard. For researchers interested in data access, please visit: https://dataforgood.fb.com/docs/covid-19-symptom-survey-request-for-data-access/.

Visit the COVID-19 Interactive Map & Dashboard