Research Guides: COVID-19 (2019 Novel Coronavirus) Information Guide: Communicate Effectively About COVID-19

Communicate Effectively About COVID-19

This section has resources that will support public health messaging and science communicators in general about COVID-19:

Guidance for COVID-19 Communication| Creating COVID-19 Data Visualizations | Impact of COVID-19 on Science Communication

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Guidance for COVID-19 Communication

Communicating about COVID-19

Associated Press Coronav Associated Press Coronavirus Topical Guide. irus Topical Guide

To help with coverage of the new coronavirus disease, called COVID-19, The Associated Press has prepared a guide based on the AP Stylebook and common usage in AP stories.
Includes definitions of key terms and guidance on proper usage.

Coronavirus Crisis Comms Triage Kit Coronavirus Crisis Comms Triage Kit.

Resource from The Communications Network. Suitable for non-profits and It includes crowdsourced best practices, resources, and examples of effective crisis communications with an open source Google doc.

5 Lessons for Communicating About Coronavirus

Executive Director of John Hopkins CCP gives 5 lessons on communicating about coronavirus.

The National Association of Science Writers (NASW) has created this regularly-updated list of resources covering the COVID-19 pandemic. All resources were publicly accessible at the time of listing.

Additional resources:

COVID-19 Health Literacy Project

Effective fact-sheets in over 37 different languages available.

Tipsheet: Covering the Coronavirus Epidemic Effectively without Spreading Misinformation

Tips on discussing COVID-19 by the Open Notebook, a non-profit organization that provides tools and resources to help science, environmental, and health journalists sharpen their skills.

Science Communication Journal Club Podcast Series

The Science Communication Journal Club aims to help scientists with their outreach efforts. Episode 16 of their podcast series covers crafting effective messages during a pandemic.

Social Stigma Associated with COVID-19

Tips by the WHO on how to talk about COVID-19 without stoking panic or stigmatizing parts of society. Key takeaways include avoiding referring to those with COVID-19 as "victims" or "cases" and avoiding criminalizing or dehumanizing language when discussing acquisition of COVID-19.

When talking about #COVID19, certain words & language may have a negative meaning for people and fuel stigmatizing attitudes https://t.co/yShiCMfYF3 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/d54qL4LY2H
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 2, 2020

General Crisis/Pandemic Communications Resources

CDC’s Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) manual

Based on psychological and communication sciences, studies in issues management, and practical lessons learned from emergency responses.

For public health response officials and communicators who have a basic knowledge of public health communication, working with the media and social media, and local and national response structures.

COMMUNICATION 101: As a UX Researcher, I study how people understand technology, content, and messaging for a living. During this crisis, vague messages like "Practice social distancing" will have far less impact than concrete, specific messages like "Stay at home. Get groceries once per week." from r/coolguides

Creating COVID-19 Data Visualizations

The Map and Data Library at UofT has created a guide of COVID-19 data resources. This guide contains tips on visualizing and mapping data responsibly, sources of COVID-19 data, and tutorials for creating data visualizations.

In addition to the above data resources guide, check out some of the resources below:

For general advice and tips:

10 considerations before you create another chart about COVID-19

Opinion piece by Amanda Makulec, an advisor to the Coronavirus Data Resource Hub and Operations Director for the Data Visualization Society. Includes details on where to find COVID-19 data to create visualizations, and how to use this data responsibly.

Data Visualization Advice for Scientists

General data visualization advice and best-practice graphic design principles by Dataviz engineer Robert Simmon.

The public do not understand logarithmic graphs used to portray COVID-19

COVID-19 data is routinely represented by logarithmic graphs but evidence shows that the people misunderstand these visualizations. When creating graphs, it is argued to to use the linear scale whenever possible.

For visualization inspiration:

COVID-19 Visual Media Resource

Compilation of visual resources by UofT's Biomedical Communications faculty, students, and alumni for science and health communication around COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2.

For image resources:

Open Peeps

Open Peeps is a hand-drawn illustration library to create scenes of people. Recently updated to include nurses, doctors, and face masks. The library is under license CC0 (free to use).

Impact of COVID-19 on Science Communication

Trust in Science and COVID-19
From the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Includes discussion of the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Civic Life and Public Health national opinion survey, whose findings include public distrust of science. (June 17, 2020)
Coronavirus misinformation needs researchers to respond
"Researchers should play a part — no matter how small — in the response to misinformation and disinformation. We need to build a society that is resilient to falsehoods about COVID-19, a task that will only become more vital as vaccines near." (May 27, 2020)
Going viral: how to boost the spread of coronavirus science on social media
From Nature.
"No public-health research is complete until the key findings are effectively communicated and, ideally, implemented. Although the scale of online platforms adds challenges to this task, it can be leveraged to share conversations about the life-saving science we need most." (May 5, 2020)
Pseudoscience and COVID-19 — we’ve had enough already
From Nature.
"Let us hope that one of the legacies of this crisis will be the recognition that tolerating pseudoscience can cause real harm. Good science and public trust are perhaps the most valuable tools in the fight against misinformation" (April 27, 2020)
Tips on Using Science Twitter During COVID-19
From PLOS.
Blog post on ways that science communication is happening on Twitter, including strategies to extend the reach of ideas or ask others for help. (April 15, 2020)
Social-media companies must flatten the curve of misinformation
From Nature.
"As researchers, we must demand that tech companies become more transparent, accountable and socially beneficial." (Apr 14, 2020)
How to Talk About the Coronavirus
From The Atlantic.
“We are all science communicators now: COVID19 has conscripted us.” Advice on communicating COVID-19 for public and science communicators. (Mar 31, 2020)
For Budding Researchers like Me, COVID-19 Is a Lesson in Science Communication
From Scientific American.
"The outbreak has made it plain how important it is to explain to the public what we know and what we don’t, clearly and honestly" A reflection on how COVID-19 has increased the stakes for effective science communication. (Mar 26, 2020)
Evaluating COVID-19 Public Health Messaging in Italy: Self-Reported Compliance and Growing Mental Health Concerns
A study evaluating the public health communication strategy's effectiveness in Italy, with policy recommendations on how to improve communication (Mar 24, 2020)
Social Media and Emergency Preparedness in Response to Novel Coronavirus
From The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Editorial on how social media may be used to help with the pandemic (Mar 23, 2020)
The effectiveness of moral messages on public health behavioral intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic
Article: The effectiveness of moral messages on public health behavioural intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic (NOTE: Preprint article that has not yet been peer-reviewed - Mar 20, 2020)
‘A completely new culture of doing research.’ Coronavirus outbreak changes how scientists communicate
From Science Magazine. Editorial (Feb 26, 2020)
Opinion: Scientists’ Obligations During the COVID-19 Outbreak
From the Scientist. Editorial (Feb 14, 2020)
COVID-19 Communication Inspiration Challenge
An open innovation idea platform soliciting science communication on COVID-19 from around the globe, with the intention of informing global response authorities - view some specific examples
Building Vaccine Confidence
From Ontario Hospital Association.
This research brief provides an overview of the issues surrounding vaccine confidence (the why), challenges to building confidence (the what) and outlines strategies that may assist in building vaccine confidence (the how).
Coronavirus: vaccine misinformation and the role of social media - Survey
From the Policy Institute at King's College London.
Survey on the British population belief on common COVID-19 vaccine misinformation across many social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Gerstein Science Information Centre

COVID-19 (2019 Novel Coronavirus) Information Guide

Communicate Effectively About COVID-19

Guidance for COVID-19 Communication

Communicating about COVID-19

Additional resources:

General Crisis/Pandemic Communications Resources

Creating COVID-19 Data Visualizations

Impact of COVID-19 on Science Communication

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