The Impact of a Pandemic on Health Communication

ALBANY, N.Y. (November 25, 2020) - In a recent article published in Health Communication, Professor Jennifer Manganello and MPH student Patrick Schumacher, along with a colleague from the University of Delaware, addressed the major shift in the way health-related information has been communicated to the public since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, discussing how the nature of public service announcements (PSAs) has changed.    

Prior to the pandemic, information about health topics was provided from health and government organizations primarily through PSAs, such as video or radio messages, posters and billboards. Since the start of the pandemic, Manganello explains how “the widespread use of the internet and the growth of social media has changed PSA creation and dissemination in many ways.”

Now, non-official sources on social media outlets have exploded with creating and sharing health related information in a PSA style format— and these messages can easily end up conveying different messages than intended and creating confusion and lack of understanding on where information comes from.    

According to Manganello and Schumacher, this new media landscape has caused an “ongoing challenge to reach audiences in a crowded online environment”.    

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to accurate health-related information is crucial, particularly as individuals, families and communities face new challenges and fears. Clear and accurate health communication can help people to understand their own health, what is happening around them and what to do if they think they or someone close to them may be ill. PSAs are a key to providing this information, but we have to consider new ways of developing and distributing messages in this format.    

“Communication has to change as our world changes around us,” says Schumacher. “Our changing media landscape requires us to evaluate the best ways to promote credible sources and provide individuals with the tools to better understand messages— and the sources behind them.”