Social media for emergency messaging with youth and families during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: Getting it right

Hilliard, Heather; Ignaszewski, Frcpc Martha J.; Sobowale, Kunmi; Chokroverty, Faap Linda

doi:10.5055/jem.0597

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…going viral for the wrong reasons) or that creativity and humour may overpower the main message ( Algie and Mead, 2019 ). Instead of wearing the risk associated with humorous or experimental content, health authorities may benefit from other social marketing techniques such as sharing popular user generated content or influencer content that aligns with their aims and values ( Hilliard et al , 2021 ; Volkmer, 2021 ). For example, preliminary research into the role of TikTok influencers and COVID-19-related content found that the most popular US TikTok influencers created content that usually demonstrated adherence to public health guidance at the time ( Selkie et al , 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of communicating reliable health messages to the community during public health emergencies ( Lazarus et al , 2022 ). Given its accessibility and time-sensitivity potential, social media technologies are playing an increasingly significant role in the health communication of governments and public health authorities ( Hilliard et al , 2021 ). During the COVID-19 pandemic, platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok emerged as major sources of health information for the public ( Chesser et al , 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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COVID-19 messages targeting young people on social media: content analysis of Australian health authority posts

Taba

Ayre

Freeman

et al. 2023

Health Promotion International

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Summary Health authorities utilized social media during the COVID-19 pandemic to disseminate critical and timely health messages, specifically targeting priority groups such as young people. To understand how social media was used for this purpose, we investigated the content of COVID-19-related social media posts targeting young people (16–29 years old) shared by Australian health departments. Posts targeting young people with COVID-19 information were extracted from all eight Australian State and Territory health department Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts over 1 month of the Delta outbreak (September 2021) and analysed thematically. In total, 238 posts targeting young people were identified from 1059 COVID-19 posts extracted. All eight health departments used Facebook, five used Instagram and only one used TikTok. The majority of posts implicitly targeted young people; only 14.7% explicitly mentioned age or ‘young people’. All posts included accompanying visuals; 77% were still images like photos or illustrations whilst 23% were moving images like videos and GIFs. Communication techniques included calls to action (63% of posts), responsive communication (32% of posts) and positive emotional appeal (31% of posts). Social marketing techniques catering to young people were used to varying extents despite receiving higher levels of engagement; 45% featured emojis whilst only 16% used humour, 14% featured celebrities and 6% were memes. Priority groups like ethnic/cultural groups and chronic health/disability communities were rarely targeted in this communication. The findings indicate a lack of health communication on social media directed towards young people, highlighting an opportunity for increased use of platforms like TikTok and trends popular with young people online.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 messages targeting young people on social media: content analysis of Australian health authority posts

Taba

Ayre

Freeman

et al. 2023

Health Promotion International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Equity-informed social media COVID-19 risk communication strategies: a scoping review

Peter,

Donelle,

George

et al. 2024

BMJ Open

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ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating worldwide impact but most prominent was its effect on marginalised, underserved and equity-deserving populations. Social media arose as an important platform from which health organisations could rapidly disseminate information to equity-deserving populations about COVID-19 risks and events, provide instructions on how to mitigate those risks, motivate compliance with health directives, address false information, provide the opportunity for engagement and immediate feedback. The objective of this scoping review was to synthesise the academic and grey literature on equity-informed social media risk communication strategies developed during the pandemic.DesignThe review followed the Arksey and O’Malley framework and focused on the research question: What are the promising principles, processes, and practices for producing equity-informed social media risk communications?Data sourcesCINAHL Complete, MEDLINE (OVID), Business Source Complete, EMBASE database OVID, Scopus and PubMed’s curated COVID-19 literature hub: LitCovid, PsycINFO OVID were searched using terms related to access to health services, social media, risk communication, misinformation, community engagement, infectious disease, pandemics and marginalisation, supplemented by grey literature from relevant health organisations.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesStudies were eligible if the population of interest was an equity-deserving population, the concept discussed was COVID-19 risk communication and the article was published in English between January 2019 and December 2022.Data extraction and synthesisCOVIDENCE facilitated screening and extraction. Charted data were thematically analysed following Braun and Clarke’s phased process. Preliminary findings were collaboratively discussed with representatives from health agencies and community organisations focused on serving equity-deserving groups.Results12 studies were included. In terms of principles and process, studies emphasised the need to collaboratively create plans for message construction and targeted dissemination using a risk communication framework, capitalise on access to community resources and pre-established communication mediums and be considerate of population-specific needs and concerns. Practice entails careful consideration of communication mediums, language usage, communication frequency and evaluation.ConclusionThis scoping review provides valuable insights for health agencies and community organisations in developing principles, processes and practices to equitably communicate risk information through social media. Engagement with stakeholders further refined and confirmed the findings, offering insights for future crisis communication strategies.

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Contrasting the COVID-19 Effects on Tourism Safety Perceptions and Coping Behavior among Young People during Two Pandemic Waves: Evidence from Egypt

2022

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The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on tourism safety perceptions, acceptance of restrictions, and the intention to change behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic among young people. Taking Egypt as a case study, a total of 386 respondents were surveyed in two different pandemic periods, with data being collected during the first wave, in April and May 2020, and during the second wave, in December 2020 and January 2021. Data was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with multigroup analysis (MGA). Results reveal significant differences between the first and the second coronavirus waves regarding the effects of perceived risk. Findings point to the heightened potential of the youth market segment in the current context and suggest that youngsters’ adaptive coping responses evolved towards self-regulatory behavior. Based on the results, theoretical and practical implications are drawn. Conceptually, the study has contributed to the clarification of the desensitization process experienced by youth over time, in the post-pandemic tourism context. Additionally, the activities’ safety perceptions being examined per se enlightened the relationship between risk susceptibility, safety perceptions, and coping attitudes and behavior. Findings suggest that special attention should be paid to crowded group settings, such as youth events, advising that authorities and tourism services should target their communication to different population segments and use appropriate safety messaging according to the evolution of health crises.

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Social media for emergency messaging with youth and families during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: Getting it right

Cited by 3 publications

References 8 publications

COVID-19 messages targeting young people on social media: content analysis of Australian health authority posts

COVID-19 messages targeting young people on social media: content analysis of Australian health authority posts

Equity-informed social media COVID-19 risk communication strategies: a scoping review

Contrasting the COVID-19 Effects on Tourism Safety Perceptions and Coping Behavior among Young People during Two Pandemic Waves: Evidence from Egypt

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