Development of a Social Distancing Monitoring System in Korea: Results of a Modified Delphi Process

Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing situation in most countries worldwide, a “social distancing” policy as a non-pharmaceutical intervention has been implemented for several months in many countries including Korea. Social distancing policies work in different ways and at different levels. In addition, various forms of surveillance systems have been implemented in different countries. However, there is an almost complete lack of specific surveillance system in Korea to effectively monitor social distancing policy. This study aims to develop a monitoring system for social distancing measures in Korea to evaluate and improve the implemented policy. Methods: A draft monitoring system was developed after reviewing Korea's social distancing measures (central and local government briefings) and checking available data for applications. The modified Delphi process was used to evaluate the draft of the monitoring system. In total, 27 experts participated in the evaluation. The round 1 evaluation includes (1) commenting on the composition of the monitoring fields (open response), (2) monitoring indicators for each monitoring field (10-point Likert scale), and (3) commenting on the source of data used to develop the monitoring system (open response). In the round 2 evaluation, 55 indicators, excepting open responses, were re-evaluated. Results: The response rate for the Delphi survey was 100% in both the first and second rounds. Of the 55 indicators, 14 were excluded according to experts’ open response comments, as these indicators did not satisfy the quantitative criteria. Finally, 41 indicators were included with 12 available data sources. The monitoring system domain was divided into input, process/output, and result. Conclusions: This study is significant in that it is the first in Korea to develop a comprehensive monitoring system for social distancing policy, and is applicable to estimates utilizing data that are immediately available for each indicator. Furthermore, the developed monitoring system could be a reference for other countries that require the development of such systems to monitor social distancing measures.