[Nudges and the pandemic: An analysis from economics and behavioural law. SESPAS Report 2022]. / Nudges y la pandemia: un análisis desde la economía y el derecho conductual. Informe SESPAS 2022.

Behavioural economics (a combination of economics and psychology) provides keys to understand decisions made by politicians and citizens along the COVID-19 pandemic through the so-called cognitive biases. These biases can be offset by implementing behavioural interventions named "nudges" in order to promote responsible behaviours in the "new normality". This paper analyses, from a behavioural economics perspective, past, present and future of behavioural aspects surrounding the pandemic. Besides, this paper proposes different ways to formalize nudges according to law, which needs the fulfilment of three minimum requirements, namely: transparency, non-arbitrariness and efficiency. Furthermore, it is also suggested that protocols and contingency plans are set up to face future pandemics, in which both soft (nudge-type) interventions and hard legal regulations play different roles but complementary ones. Nudges can be implemented in a fast and less coercive way, so they are particularly suitable for changing mild misbehaviour, reserving legal sanctions for the more serious ones.

Primary health care response in the management of pandemics: Learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Primary care is an essential foundation for the global response to COVID-19 pandemic. It plays a significant role in the health care response: identifying and triaging potential COVID-19 cases, making an early diagnosis, helping vulnerable people cope with their anxiety about the virus, strengthening compliance with prevention and protection measures, and reducing the demand for hospital services. Primary care teams have continued to address citizens' health problems during the pandemic, adapting to strict social control measures imposed by governments such as closing of borders, lockdowns and self-isolation of cases and contacts. We describe the COVID-19 response from primary care in Hong Kong and China, based on their recent pandemic experiences. We also present that of a European country, United Kingdom, less experienced in pandemic management, but with universal and highly developed primary care with great social recognition. Finally, we point out some crucial learning for future pandemic management, highlighting the crucial need to improve the relationship between primary care and public health to improve pandemics response.