Communication Challenges Surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic
Year: 2020 | Competency/Strategic Skill: Communication | Priority Topic: Other Infectious Disease | Setting: Online | Format: On-Demand | Sponsor: Emory University/Central Office
Overview:
This is 90-minute recording of a webinar held on June 11, 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided and continues to provide huge challenges to our public health system. One challenge has been behavioral, in that mitigating the consequences of the disease involves huge behavioral changes and long term cooperation on the part of the public at large. Changing behavior and gaining the public’s cooperation is in part a problem in communication and persuasion. In this webinar, we will discuss four challenges to communicating successfully during the COVID-19 pandemic including: (1) the need for clear, consistent, credible and apolitical communication (CCCaP); (2) how various types of informational uncertainty challenge CCCaP; (3) how misinformation challenges CCCaP and how it can be addressed (and not addressed); and (4) looking ahead to the virus’ demise with the development of a successful vaccine, public health campaigns must ready the public to accept vaccination especially in communities which have traditionally had low vaccination rates.