scholarly journals Strategic Uses of Facebook in Zika Outbreak Communication: Implications for the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1974 ◽  
Author(s):  
May Lwin ◽  
Jiahui Lu ◽  
Anita Sheldenkar ◽  
Peter Schulz
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
Great Level ◽  
Communication Model ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
One Year

While social media has been increasingly used for communication of infectious disease outbreaks, little is known about how social media can improve strategic communication across various stages of the health crisis. The Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication Model (Reynolds & Seeger, 2005; CERC) outlines strategies across different crisis phases and can guide crisis communication on social media. This research therefore investigates how social media can be utilized to implement and adapt the CERC model, by examining the strategic uses of Facebook in communicating the recent Zika epidemic by health authorities in Singapore. Zika-related Facebook posts of three main Singapore health agencies published within the one year period from January 2016 to December 2016 were thematically analysed. Results suggest that Facebook was used to communicate the crisis strategically, which supported and added to the CERC model. Novel uses of Facebook for outbreak communication were demonstrated, including promoting public common responsibility for disease prevention and expressing regards to the public for cooperation. Results also suggested that preparedness messages might be the most effective, as they produced a great level of public engagement. The adaptability of the CERC model in social media contexts to improve crisis communication is discussed.

Risk Communication and Crisis Communication in Infectious Disease Outbreaks in Germany: What Is Being Done, and What Needs to be Done

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Dickmann ◽  
Nadine Biedenkopf ◽  
Sam Keeping ◽  
Markus Eickmann ◽  
Stephan Becker
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
International Health ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities

AbstractObjectiveRisk communication plays a central role in the management of infectious disease. The World Health Organization's 2005 International Health Regulations have highlighted the need for countries to strengthen their capacities in this area to ensure effective responses to public health emergencies. We surveyed laboratories, hospitals, and public health institutions in Germany to detail the current situation regarding risk communication and crisis management and to identify which areas require further development.MethodsA mixed methods approach was adopted. An initial questionnaire was distributed to relevant persons in laboratories and hospitals, and semistructured interviews were conducted with selected participants. Representatives from state public health authorities, federal agencies, and media also were interviewed to add additional contextual information to the questionnaire responses.ResultsBased on the responses received, the universal sense among key stakeholders was that risk communication and crisis communication measures must be improved. Collaborative working was a consistent theme, with participants suggesting that a partnering strategy could help to improve performance. This approach could be achieved through better coordination between groups, for example, through a knowledge-sharing policy.ConclusionsMore research is needed on how such collaboration might be implemented, along with a general conceptual framework for risk communication to underpin the overall strategy. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-6)

scholarly journals Social Media for Crisis Communication in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak: A Study of NCDC

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2 (40)) ◽  
pp. 45-69
Author(s):  
Beryl EHONDOR ◽  
Christiana UNAKALAMBA
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Communication Policy ◽  
Crisis Communications ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
High Level

Several scholars have studied social media use for crisis com- munication. However, few studies have been carried out to investigate so- cial media deployment during a public health crisis, such as the Corona- virus outbreak. This study accessed public awareness and engagement of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)’s social media use for crisis communications during the Coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria. It also as- sessed the influence of communication towards public positive behavioural adjustments. The study data was gathered via a survey of 400 citizens and Facebook users and analysed using excel and SPSS. The study found public awareness of the NCDC social media communications during the outbreak; there was also a public behavioural adjustment to NCDC’s recommended preventive behaviours. However, there was a low engagement in NCDC’s crisis communication via Facebook. The study reveals a high level of public uncertainty about NCDC Facebook communications and a change in public opinion about the Coronavirus. This study concludes that this situation could result from competing information about the Coronavirus on social media during the COVID outbreak and recommended further studies in this area. Findings are helpful for health communication policy reviews, strategic crisis communication assessments, appraisal of similar agencies, and further research.

scholarly journals Social Media Crisis Communication Model for Building Public Resilience: A Preliminary Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 245-256
Author(s):  
Umar Ali Bukar ◽  
Marzanah A Jabar ◽  
Fatimah Sidi ◽  
Rozi Nor Haizan Nor ◽  
Salfarina Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Regression Model ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Kappa Statistics ◽  
Communication Model ◽  
Dynamic Feature ◽  
Consistency Requirement ◽  
Process Macro

There is an ongoing discussion about the effectiveness of social media usage on the ability of people to recover from the crisis. However, the existing social media crisis communication models could not address the dynamic feature of social media users and the crisis, respectively. Therefore, the objective of this study is to conduct a preliminary investigation of the social media crisis communication model for building public resilience. Thus, 34 items were generated from the literature concerning the crisis, crisis response, social interaction, and resilience. The items were validated by three experts via content validity index and modified kappa statistics. After passing the validation test, the instruments were pre-tested by 32 participants. The reliability of the items was analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha. Also, the model fits and mediation were examined by the regression model, and the hypotheses were independently assessed in process macro models. Based on the result obtained, each of the constructs satisfied the internal consistency requirement; crisis (0.743), crisis response (0.724), social media interaction (0.716), and resilience (0.827). Furthermore, the result also indicates that the regression model is a good fit for the data. The independent variables statistically significantly predict the dependent variable, p < 0.05. Also, the result of the process macro models indicates that all the hypotheses are independently supported.

scholarly journals Framing crisis: news media narratives of the “Opi-void” (Opioid) epidemic on Twitter

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis Boyco
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
Online News ◽  
Major Research ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Opioid Crisis ◽  
Research Questions

The following Major Research Paper (MRP) focuses on the discussion of opioids in Canada, online news outlets, and social media. More specifically, this research focuses on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and how the organization frames the opioid crisis on Twitter through @CBCNews. This research excludes other CBC Twitter accounts (i.e., @CBC, @CBCAlerts, @CBCOttawa, @CBCToronto, @CBCManitoba, @CBCPolitics, @CBCCanada), as @CBCNews is the most active with 2.62 million followers. The following discussion considers the opioid discussion from a crisis communication lens. This research asserts that there is an apparent opioid crisis, given the situation’s complexity, and the number of opioid-related deaths. This research questions how social media (specifically Twitter) act as a tool for information dissemination during a health-related crisis, and how external factors (i.e., public opinion, bias, and current affairs) shape news content online. Without understanding the narrative (i.e., how a story is intentionally told) and strategies behind social media posts, news outlets like the CBC can promote hidden agendas and ideals (without a large amount of public knowledge or opposition). The CBC has goals, commitments, and preconceived notions like any other private organization. This reality is incredibly problematic during a public health crisis, as human lives depend on appropriate and trustworthy information. Instead of discussing an issue without bias or pre-conception, news outlets may provide subjective, false or vague information, which could lead to negative repercussions (Kim & Hyojung, 2017). Due to private motivations, the intent to control the opioid conversation (through politically-driven content, stigma-driven content or to even place blame, for example) or the promotion of ideas beneficial to pharmaceutical companies, for example, do news sources frame Twitter posts with a specific narrative in mind? Instead of analyzing social media as an enabler or an initiator of framing crisis online, this research focuses on how news outlets frame crises through social media as one of many possible media channels. Examining how social media as a platform acts as an echo chamber (therefore enabling an intended narrative) is an interesting concept. However, this type of analysis is beyond the scope of this research. As a result, the following Major Research Paper explores the following primary research questions: 1. How does the CBC frame the issue of opioid usage in Canada? In addition, why are their Twitter posts framed a certain way? 2. What is the nature of the dialogue occurring in response to the CBC’s Twitter coverage? What strategies are most conducive to audience response? 3. How are fluctuations and outliers in news coverage accounted for by the CBC? Do socially and/or politically driven events impact the timing of posts? Keywords: social media, crisis, communication, opioid crisis, strategy, political, narrative, framing, Canada, fentanyl, naloxone.

scholarly journals Covid-19 et communication de crise. Focus linguistique sur les tweets francophones de Belgique

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise-Amélie Cougnon ◽  
Louis de Viron
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
International Community ◽  
Semantic Approach ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
The Media ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

The Covid-19 health crisis of 2020 strongly affected the international community. Especially during the lockdown period, social media were widely used for information and emotion sharing. This article aims to keep a material trace of these crisis communication trends. To reach this aim, we applied quantitative and qualitative methods on a corpus of 100,000 tweets we collected in the French-speaking part of Belgium. The corpus is divided into three sub-groups: citizens, politicians and the media. We first present the corpus collection and the methodology we followed. We also look at the lexical creativity that resulted from the crisis and the lockdown situation. We then propose a semantic approach of the themes that emerged from the crisis tweets and which highlight citizens’ concerns. Finally, we depict the personalities related to the crisis, by focusing on their communication and on the image they portray to the public.

scholarly journals Covid-19 on Twitter: an analysis of risk communication with visuals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Sleigh ◽  
Julia Amann ◽  
Manuel Schneider ◽  
Effy Vayena
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
Preventative Measures ◽  
Health Gains ◽  
Risk Framing ◽  
Loss Framing

Abstract Background: In a pandemic, when timely and clear communication is important, visuals on social media can help citizens quickly find and understand health risk information. In recognition of visuality and social media’s value during a crisis, we investigated popular Covid-19 risk communication with visuals posted on the platform Twitter. Looking at tweet authors, their use of graphics, the preventative messages, and risk framing, our objective was to determine how visual communication on Twitter promoted WHO Covid-19 health recommendations.Methods: We sourced Twitter’s 500 most retweeted Covid-19 messages for each month from January - October 2020 using Crowdbreaks. Included tweets had to have visuals, be in English, come from verified accounts, and contain at least one of the keywords ‘covid19', 'coronavirus', 'corona', or 'covid’. Following a retrospective approach, we then performed a qualitative content analysis of the tweets’ text and visuals. Results: Most of the tweets analysed came from influencers - individuals with many followers (51%), followed by media companies (30%), and health and government institutions (15%). At the start of the pandemic, the latter two were most prevalent. Analysis of visual formats showed that photographs were most common, and the majority of tweets combined them with other graphic types (55%). 68% of tweets had text in their visual, 42% of all visuals were animated, and 26% included a URL. ‘Stay home’ and ‘wear a mask’ were the most frequently communicated Covid-19 preventative measures. 70% of tweets used risk framing (emphasising health gains or loss), and 32% had tones of critique.Conclusion: This study found that the most retweeted Covid-19 preventative measures with visuals mostly came from individuals, showing that health and government organisations were not alone in promoting preventative measures on Twitter. This stresses the important role individuals play in the dissemination of information using social media during a health crisis. The finding that more tweets used health loss framing, often combined with the emotive medium of photographs, raises concerns about persuasive tactics feeding on fear. Future research is needed to better understand this approach's consequences and its impact on public perceptions and behaviours.

Health information communication during a pandemic crisis: analysis of CDC Facebook Page during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Yeon Syn
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Emergency Situation ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Crisis Situation ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Insight Into

PurposeThis study investigates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Facebook Page to examine what kinds of information is shared to public using Facebook and how Facebook users share and engage with information during a health crisis situation with a case of the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachUsing Facebook Graph API, CDC's Facebook Page posts and users' engagement and reactions for six months from January to June 2020 were collected and analyzed. The posts were categorized into five categories. Users' engagement and reactions include share, comment, like, love, haha, wow, sad and angry.FindingsThe findings show that the type of posts have significant association with COVID-19 situation and the level of users' engagement and reactions differs significantly when COVID-19 related information is shared. The findings show that users become more active during health emergency situation. The results provided an insight into how different types of posts gain users' attention and motivation to interact.Originality/valueThis study investigates the use of social media during a national health crisis situation. While literature provides the use of social media during emergency and crisis cases, as health crisis situation is unique in that the boundary of time and location as well as people's daily life, the findings of this study provide an insight into how health authorities could communicate with the public during a health crisis situation.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-09-2020-0416

scholarly journals Social Media for Crisis Communication Management

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 64-72
Author(s):  
Thouraya Snoussi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Communication Management ◽  
Communication Plan ◽  
Use Of Social Media

This paper analyzes trends related to the role of social media in crisis communication. The author posed a question about the attitudes of online media actors (communication, public relations and marketing experts) towards using social media as a strategic communication tool in times of crisis; Emphasis on two different crises: the 2016 Turkish political crisis and the global health pandemic (COVID-19) in 2020. Communications actors' perceptions and behaviors of social media in times of crisis were tracked through a mixed method (a content analysis of 40 online publications about the military coup attempt in Turkey, and 20 semi structured in-depth interviews about the usage of social media during the quarantine period). The results showed that social media is a lifeboat that is provided to organizations in times of crisis, as communication with customers becomes a vital factor in managing critical situations. Meanwhile, some participants expressed reservations about confidence in the use of social media in times of crisis, stressing that these networks are a double-edged sword. As the keyword for crisis management, a strategic communication plan should take place via social media to discuss customer inquiries with clients, answer their questions, and try to reduce their anxiety, according to the interviewee.

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