趣赢平台’s 特里的野蛮人 on Challenges with COVID-19 通信
是研究驱动型沟通的专家, 趣赢平台 Vice President 特里的野蛮人 leads a team that develops, 实现了, and evaluates award-winning campaigns and health education programs to promote flu vaccination, 儿童期免疫, 艾滋病毒预防, 心血管健康, 和更多的. Ms. Sav年龄 also serves as the President of the Society for Health Communication, 非营利组织1,600 +的成员, including health communication practitioners from the public and private sectors, 学者, 和学生.
Q: What is the role of research in developing a social marketing campaign or health communications program?
A: 研究是韦斯特基因的一部分. It’s also the foundation of every successful communications program and campaign. The audience insights we gather during the formative research phase are critical to defining the who, 什么, 在哪里, 为什么是一场运动. Our research informs the development of mess年龄s that resonate, 识别通信通道, and eng年龄ment of trusted public health partners to help amplify a campaign’s reach and impact. 一旦我们发起一项运动或计划, we evaluate performance and refine tactics as needed to ensure success.
Q: What have we learned from our work on infectious disease communications and how does that apply to COVID-19?
A: The challenges that we’ve faced and the solutions we’ve developed to encour年龄 flu vaccination, 儿童期免疫, 艾滋病毒检测与此非常相关. The primary challenges I see for COVID-19 communications are:
- 快速变化的步伐. 因为信息来得如此之快, health communicators must be agile and responsive—continuously monitoring events and updating mess年龄s and communication tactics to ensure that audiences have credible, 最新信息.
- 恐惧. People are understandably anxious about the impact of COVID-19 on their health and their finances. That fear can make it difficult to process information about a public health emergency. To encour年龄 people to protect themselves and their families—whether it be through physical distancing, 洗手, 在公共场合戴口罩, or recognizing COVID-19 symptoms—mess年龄s must be accurate, 反映我们的受众的健康素养, 承认焦虑和不确定, 表示同情, 并且要通过可信的渠道来传达.
- 错误信息. 上喷洒消毒剂, 避开5G移动网络, 防止蚊虫叮咬, taking hot baths—these are just a few of the COVID-19 prevention myths that are circulating these days. Research shows that once someone comes to believe something that is untrue—for example, the belief that childhood vaccines cause autism—it can be very difficult to change that belief. 应对错误信息, we must meet people 在哪里 they are and be prepared to deliver mess年龄s multiple times.
- 健康差异. 数据显示，COVID-19是 having a greater impact on communities of color. The disproportionate impact combined with a mistrust of some government authorities can make it difficult to reach these communities. For a communications program to be effective in helping to address health disparities, mess年龄s must be culturally sensitive and delivered through trusted messengers.
Q: How does 趣赢平台 approach the development of communications campaigns and how would this approach best be adapted for COVID-19?
A: We conduct research to understand communication challenges and campaign audiences. The findings guide campaign objectives and the development of campaign strategy and implementation plans. 我们识别并吸引合作伙伴——个人, community-based and professional organizations, 卫生保健提供者和卫生系统, and public health departments—to develop and deliver campaign mess年龄s. Once a campaign is underway, we evaluate performance to optimize our tactics and assess impact. 趣赢平台 also conducts rigorous evaluations to determine campaign outcomes.
趣赢平台 has used this approach to raise awareness and change a variety of health behaviors. To promote flu vaccination to the general public, including those at high risk of complications from the flu, we conducted research and developed messaging about the new quadrivalent vaccine. 为了应对百日咳的爆发, we surveyed health care providers and pregnant women to develop a campaign designed to protect infants by promoting Tdap vaccination among pregnant women and their families. To help reduce the number of new HIV diagnoses in the United 状态s, client research and an environmental scan guided development of a multichannel campaign to normalize HIV testing. This social marketing-informed approach applies and can be adapted for a COVID-19 communications campaign.
