Ten Communication Tactics to Combat Pandemic Messaging Fatigue
It should come as no surprise that the public is growing weary of pandemic restrictions and are increasingly tuning out COVID-19 public health messaging. Researchers from the University of Arkansas recently surveyed 744 participants to tease out the parts of pandemic health messaging that have grown stale. According to the survey, about 21.9 percent of the participants said they were tired of hearing about the need to wear masks, 18 percent response rate indicated "message fatigue" about social distancing, 10.08 percent response rate about washing hands, and 3.76 percent about vaccines.
The problem is that just because people are through with COVID does not mean COVID is through with them. There is still a need for public health officials to provide guidance and recommendations, but you need to shift your communication strategies to regain public interest and trust.
The question is, how do you do that? Experts are addressing this challenge. Emerging from these deliberations are ten tactics that have the potential to combat message fatigue and instill a spirit of hope. These tactics will not only help you with COVID-19 messaging but will prepare you for future public health crises.
James Davis, founder and president of Touchdown Strategies, has decades of crisis communications experience. He offers the following:
- Do no harm. We are all familiar with the Hippocratic oath that calls for doctors to do no harm. The same should apply to public health officials. That means trying to convince your audience instead of trying to manipulate them. For example, the original guidance telling the public not to wear masks was driven not by science but to prevent a run on N95 masks.
- Use caution with projection models. Public health officials should avoid sounding like they have all the answers. Early in the pandemic, health officials put too much stock in predictive models that turned out wrong. While they were trying to create a sense of hope, it led to cynicism as the models did not pan out.
- Don't overpromise. There are findings that public health officials may believe to be true based on the best current knowledge, but those same findings might at some point prove to be false. For example, previous public health statements that “vaccinated people don’t carry the virus or get sick,” later proved untrue with Omicron now infecting both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated and those past statements have fueled vaccine skeptics. Discipline in messaging is critical, as is immediately correcting statements that are flat-out wrong.
- Don't hype the threat or sugarcoat bad news. People expect spin from politicians and corporations but not from public health agencies.
- Don't demonize people. A better approach is to be empathetic, data-driven, and educational—not bullying or condescending.
Jeff Fortenbacher, Access Health CEO, recommends:
- Recommend don't mandate. People are tired of top-down mandates. If you keep mandating masks, you're not going to engage them because they are so irritated with someone calling all the shots.
Dr. Mengfei Guan, University of Arkansas suggests:
- Tell stories and use visuals. People may be more receptive to messages that use stories and appealing visuals. Use less didactic language, arrange texts in charts that are easily digestible, embed interactive and responsive features, invite public figures/celebrities to speak up, etc.
Adriane Casalotti heads government affairs for the National Association of City and County Health Officials and recommends the following:
- Use shorter, more straightforward "bumper sticker" messages. Use explicit and consistent messages that connect, communicate, and convince.
George Benjamin, head of the American Public Health Association, recommends the following:
- People need to hear things seven times before it sticks.
- Point to a better future. People may tune back in if the message is about life after the pandemic. People need a sense of hope and to know what we anticipate going forward and how this ends.
James Davis summarizes how you need to move forward. "Health care is about people, not politics. So don't manipulate your audience, be honest about what you know and don't know, coordinate with other agencies, don't overpromise, stay disciplined, be humble, and, above all, keep politics out of it. That's the only way to win back the trust of Americans."
Research and materials for this article were compiled, written, and distributed on behalf of the National Public Health Information Coalition. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the various authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the National Public Health Information Coalition or its members.
References:
Why are Americans confused about COVID? Blame it on poor communication. (yahoo.com)
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21184709-220027-nbc-news-january-poll
Hippocratic oath | Definition, Summary, & Facts | Britannica
Fauci: Mask Advice Was Because of Doctors' Shortages From the Start (businessinsider.com)
Data Suggests Vaccinated Individuals Don’t Carry Virus or Get Sick: CDC – NBC Bay Area
A growing problem in public health is getting people to heed advice : NPR