Communicating Through a Pandemic; A Chronicle of Experiences, Lessons Learned, and a Vision for the Future; 1

Silver Award Winner from the Nonfiction Authors Association "The book is equal parts 'how-to guide' for effective health communications and a memoir of surviving a global pandemic. I appreciated reading about Burke-Garcia's personal reflections about her experiences of isolation, uncertainty and exhaustion during quarantine. She shares her experiences and observations in a relatable and accessible manner. Knowing about the author's personal struggles made me lean into what she had to share from her professional experience leading a communications campaign. Throughout the book, she explores data and research about communication needs among people from diverse groups and presents a sensible critique of the media environment." – Nonfiction Book Award Outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics are nothing new. Over the last several decades, we have been through numerous—Zika, Ebola, H1N1. The COVID‐19 pandemic, however, has challenged us like never before. During this time, we have struggled to work remotely, to balance work and children's school schedules, and to manage finances in the face of lost or furloughed jobs. We have worried about our loved ones getting sick and being able to support themselves, and we have faced the loneliness that comes with social distancing. It has affected us individually and globally—but we have not all experienced this pandemic in exactly the same way. Some communities have been hit harder in terms of sickness and death rates from COVID‐19. Many have felt the economic pressures of the pandemic more acutely. Still others have struggled disproportionately with the mental health impacts. Context has mattered in this pandemic. There is one common thread that runs through everything we have experienced though: the role that communication has played in managing this pandemic. Whether we are talking about communication about the virus and mitigation strategies, communication between friends and family, the urgent crisis resulting in mis- and dis-information, our complex and diffuse media environment, or new workplace communication strategies, communication has been front and center in this pandemic. The role of communication has been integral to the success and failure of our ability to respond and adapt to and begin to recover from this pandemic—as individuals, collectively as communities, and as countries. As a result, issues such as preparedness, misinformation, literacy and comprehension of virus and vaccine science, health equity and mental health have all gained increased awareness during this time. This book unpacks the many and varied roles that communication has played over the course of this pandemic, in order to help public health professionals, marketers and health communicators, and policymakers alike to understand what we have been through, what has worked well, and what we have struggled with. It will help us learn from our experiences, so we communicate through pandemics more successfully in the future. Communicating Through a Pandemic Cover -1 Endorsements 2 Half Title 6 Title Page 8 Copyright Page 9 Dedication 10 Contents 12 Foreword 14 About the Author 18 Notes to the Reader 20 Chapter 1. Introduction—A.K.A. My Pandemic Story 22 The Struggle Has Been Real 23 Getting to the Heart of the Matter 25 COVID Has Amplified EVERYTHING: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 26 But, How Are You Really? 28 Context Matters 29 So, What Comes Next? 30 Conclusion 34 Chapter 2. A Brief History of Pandemic Communication 36 Outbreaks. Epidemics. And Pandemics. Oh My! 37 Outbreaks, Defined 38 Epidemics, Defined 38 Pandemics, Defined 39 A Walk Down Pandemic Memory Lane 40 The 1918 Influenza Pandemic 41 The HIV/AIDS Pandemic 44 The 2009 H1N1 Pandemic 47 The 2014-2016 Ebola Pandemic 52 2015 Zika Virus Pandemic 55 Trends in Pandemic Communication Approaches over the Years 58 Use of Clear Communication Is Paramount 58 Frequent and Consistent Communication Is Key 59 A Robust Set of Tailored Resources That Can Be Used Across Multiple Dissemination Channels Is Needed 59 Conclusion 60 Chapter 3. Dimensions of Crisis and Emergency Response Communication 62 Some Definitions before We Get Started 64 Crisis Communication in the Private Sector 66 Johnson & Johnson 67 Pepsi Co. 68 American Red Cross 68 Kentucky Fried Chicken 68 But Infectious Disease Doesn't Taste Like Chicken 70 A Review of CDC's Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication Framework 71 The Role of Risk in Pandemic Communication 73 Risk Assessment in Today's Context 75 Conclusion 76 Chapter 4. Pandemic Communication in Our Current Media and Communication Environment 78 So What Is a Media and Communication Environment Anyway? 81 Oh, What a "Media" World We Live In 81 The Changing News Landscape 82 The Advent of the Internet and the Evolution of Digital, Social, and Mobile Technologies 83 Mis- and Disinformation and Our Current Communication Environment 85 Information Processing and the Role of Cognitive Bias in Misinformation Dissemination 86 The Role of Digital Algorithms in Mis- and Disinformation Dissemination 87 Conclusion 88 Chapter 5. Phases of Messaging 90 A Little Bit about COVID and the Scientific Process 91 Pre-pandemic Messaging about a New Virus 93 Moving into Quarantine 94 In Quarantine and Stay-At-Home Measures 96 To Wear a Mask or Not Wear a Mask 97 Phased Reopening 98 The Vaccine Roll Out 99 To Wear a Mask or Not Wear a Mask—Redux 101 Delta, Omicron, and Boosters, Oh My! 102 Conclusion 105 Chapter 6. Audience Group Experiences 106 Meet Issouf Mande 107 Meet Darlyne Dagrin 108 Meet Maggie Russell-Ciardi 108 Different Community Experiences in COVID 110 Older Adults 110 Caregivers 111 Parents and Families 111 Schools, Teachers, and Students 112 Essential and Frontline Workers 113 Undocumented Immigrants 114 Farm and Migrant Workers 115 Healthcare Workers 115 Refugees and Those Seeking Asylum 116 People Experiencing Homelessness 116 Justice-involved Individuals (Formerly "Incarcerated Persons") 117 Children, Youth, and Young Adults 117 The LGBTQIA Community 119 Conclusion 119 Chapter 7. Disparities Already Existed—The Pandemic Just Exacerbated Them 122 Meet Branda 123 COVID's Disproportionate Impact 127 We Didn't Get Here by Accident 128 It's Bigger Than COVID, Though 129 The Interplay between Social Conditions and Health—the Role of Social Determinants of Health 130 SDOH and COVID—the Perfect Storm 132 Conclusion 134 Chapter 8. Introducing How Right Now and Other Pandemic Communication Efforts 136 Developing How Right Now 139 Audience Research to Develop the Campaign 139 The Launch of a Campaign and How It Was Implemented 140 So Did the Campaign Work? 142 Other COVID-related Communication Campaigns 143 #AloneTogether Campaign (U.S.), 143 #BacktoSchoolTogether Campaign (U.S.) 145 Stay At Home Campaign (U.K.) 145 The #SafeHands Challenge (Global) 147 "It's Up to You" Campaign (U.S.) 148 #YoMeVacuno Campaign (Chile)- 150 "Mask Up America" Campaign (U.S.) 151 #StopAsianHate Movement (U.S.), 152 Conclusion 153 Chapter 9. Building a Team and a Communication Campaign in the Middle of a Global Pandemic 156 Principles of Team Development and Management 160 Having a Common Purpose, 161 Setting Clear Goals, 162 Communicating Often and Regularly, 163 Respecting Each Other, 165 Saying "Thank You", 165 A Few Final Notes on the Principles of Team Building 166 Building and Leading a Team in a Pandemic 167 Conclusion 170 Chapter 10. Conclusions, Lessons Learned, and a Vision for the Future 172 Lessons Learned 174 Communicating about Health Topics Is Hard 175 Context Matters 176 Investment in Public Health Infrastructure Is Critical 176 Declining Trust, Misinformation, Disinformation, and Digital Literacy Are Big Problems 178 We Need to Have More Compassion and Understanding for One Another 179 Developing a Vision for the Future of Pandemic Communication 181 Articulating My Vision for the Future of Pandemic Communication 182 Reconceptualizing the idea of "surveillance" to include ongoing non-epidemiological data collection 182 Embracing a more nimble, responsive, inclusive, and collaborative pandemic communication "culture" 184 Developing strategies and policies that address the mis- and disinformation crisis 186 Achieving This Vision 186 Conclusion 188 Notes 192 Index 212 COVID-19;,Coronavirus;,Communication;,Opinion,Leaders;,Social,determinants,of,health,(SDOH);,Vital,conditions,for,health;,Inequality;,Social,Media;,Global,Health;,Marketing; COVID-19,Coronavirus,Communication,Opinion Leaders,Social determinants of health (SDOH),Vital conditions for health,Inequality,Social Media,Global Health,Marketing