Table 2.

The main information sources used to design the data set.

Information resources	Details
Articles	We searched PubMed and Google using the terms “COVID-19″ and “SARS-CoV-2″ to retrieve related articles
COVID-19 data collection and reporting forms	To retrieve COVID-19 data collection and reporting forms, we searched Google using the following terms in Persian and English: “COVID-19″, “SARS-COV-2″ and “Coronavirus disease” in combination with the terms “data collection form”, “data gathering form”, “minimum data set”, “data set”, “data dictionary”, “questionnaire” and “form”. Besides, we requested information from other hospitals, universities, or researchers in Iran for forms that were not available by Internet
Patient medical record	Some COVID-19 patients; medical records in one hospital in Ahvaz were reviewed. The structure and content (data elements) of paper-based forms of medical records and data recorded in these forms were considered
Health information systems	Content (data elements and their values) were examined in the following health information systems in Iran: MCMC system, MCDPC, SIB, HIS
Disease registry documents	Data sets, software, protocols and guidelines of other current registration systems in Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences were examined
Guidelines for other acute respiratory infections in Iran	The previous instructions and forms of the Ministry of Health of Iran were reviewed for other acute respiratory infections caused by corona viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and Influenza