Government Messages Research Articles

Topic modelling and sentiment analysis during COVID-19 revealed emotions changes for public health

Between 2020 and 2022, lockdown and restraining measures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in daily routines and also in language usage. At certain points during the pandemic, populations in some countries were unwilling or unlikely to respond to government messages, either because of the tone and analytic discourse used by leaders, or because they did not understand the messages. Linguistic markers and meanings were therefore linked to low levels of engagement, negative emotions and high levels of analytical thinking, especially in relation to the discourses of influential international leaders. We subjected sixteen speeches by eight country leaders to topic modelling and sentiment analysis in order to understand how the psychological functions of language were affected during two different periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this topic analysis we organize 39,073 words collected from sixteen authentic speeches delivered in two different periods of the acute phase of the pandemic. These were encoded in the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count program (LIWC), with the main aim being to identify differences between the periods. We examined the following aspects: (1) the emotional tone, analytical thinking and clout (empathy dimension); (2) the changes in these three dimensions or factors between periods 1 and 2 (February and May 2020). We observed a negative relationship between emotional tone and analytical thinking and a positive relationship between clout and emotional tone. When we considered the changes in pandemic circumstances, the psycholinguistic profiles of eight country leaders demonstrated fluctuations in language and emotions. Further reviews and research should focus on the current language and deficit wording of this population (leaders). We also note that psychologists and schoolteachers can play an important role in supporting language programmes with positive wording and by emphasising the collateral effects of face-to-face classes when teaching children to read and write.

Knowledge, behavior, and effect of health messaging during the first Indian lockdown for COVID-19

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was declared a global pandemic in March 2020, affecting certain health measures. Precautionary hygiene measures of hand washing, mask-wearing, and social distancing were advocated and disseminated to the public through different government machinery. Aim: The current study explored if government messaging had an impact on the knowledge of COVID-19 and the necessary precautionary behaviors in three groups: persons with past suicide attempts (PSA), persons with schizophrenia (SZ), and the general population during the first lockdown (March to May 2020). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional 22-item questionnaire was designed to assess “precautionary knowledge,” “precautionary behaviors,” “living circumstances,” and “tobacco and alcohol consumption” before and during the first Indian lockdown. PSA and SZ were contacted telephonically, while for the general population, the survey was adapted into Google Forms and circulated as a WhatsApp link. Inclusion criteria were both genders, 18-65 years, and Indians residing in India. Results: No differences among PSA, SZ, and the general population were reported in the knowledge for the lockdown and behavior for “hand washing,” “mask-wearing,” and “frequency of going outdoors.” Almost 15% of the general population moved back home during the lockdown. A significantly higher frequency of alcohol consumption was reported by the general population both before and during the lockdown compared with PSA and SZ. Conclusion: Appropriate COVID-19 knowledge and behavior were seen in PSA, SZ, and the general population. Thus, government-mandated behaviors for COVID-19 were adhered to by all three groups. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of the government’s health messaging among people with severe mental illnesses in times of a novel worldwide health crisis.

Social Media Users’ Engagement with Fear Appeal Elements in Government’s Health Crisis Communication via State-Owned Media

Government health messaging is significant to the containment of public health crises. Such communication may benefit from using fear appeal, a message strategy for promoting health and preventing diseases. Yet little scholarly attention has been paid to how fear appeal is employed in government messaging to promote social media engagement through online actions including likes, shares, and comments. These actions play a meaningful role in addressing communication exigencies within the context of health crises. In this study, quantitative content analysis and corpus linguistics methods were employed to analyze fear appeal-related elements in COVID-19 messages sent by a state-owned media outlet on social media. The results show that when compared to messages without threat, messages conveying threat elicited significantly more comments, in which emotions and perceptions to threat and efficacy were exhibited, while messages containing both threat and efficacy generated more engagement in comparison to messages with threat alone. Moreover, while subdimensions under efficacy were positive predictors of engagement, those under threat were primarily found to have exerted negative effects. The findings provide insights into how fear appeal elements can be employed in government health crisis communication to engage the public.

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 VACCINATION ON INDIA'S ELDERLY AND CHILDREN: ACCEPTANCE, COVERAGE, AND PUBLIC CONCERNS

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges globally, with vulnerable populations such as the elderly and children facing heightened risks. In India, the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 has been a critical component of the public health response. This study aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 vaccination specifically on India's elderly and children, focusing on acceptance, coverage, and public concerns. Through a comprehensive literature review and analysis of available data, this study examines the acceptance levels of COVID-19 vaccines among the elderly and caregivers of children in India. It explores factors influencing vaccine acceptance, including trust in vaccine efficacy and safety, accessibility of vaccination centers, and government messaging strategies. Moreover, the study investigates the coverage rates among these populations, identifying any disparities in vaccine distribution and access.

Exploring COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among young adults in Australia. A qualitative study

BackgroundCOVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among young adults in Australia is still poorly understood. Young adults aged 25–34 years have been identified as a population subgroup where COVID-19 vaccine-hesitant views are highly prevalent. ObjectiveExploring the attitudes, thoughts, feelings and social environments affecting the decision to have or not have the vaccine can provide vital transferrable lessons in future health campaigns. MethodsA qualitative phenomenological study was conducted using semi-structured phone interviews between June 2021 and July 2021. Interview questions were adopted from the World Health Organization’s guidance document ‘Data for Action: Achieving High Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccines’. Participants aged 25–34 years (n = 26) were recruited via purposive and snowball sampling methods. Data were analysed thematically. ResultsOverall, participants presented themselves as highly vaccine literate, understanding their social contract with society. Many participants also did not display traditional vaccine-hesitant views. Six themes specifically regarding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were identified, namely (1) decision-making complexities, (2) perceived risk of COVID-19 infection, (3) media’s misrepresentation of COVID-19, (4) vaccine-related issues, (5) inconsistent government messaging and program execution, and (6) social benefits assessment. In addition, motivators to COVID-19 vaccine uptake were classified into three categories: (1) tangible benefits, (2) protecting others, and (3) mandates and incentives. Findings suggest the motivators for COVID-19 vaccine uptake in young adults depend on individual benefits, highlighting the importance of recognising and addressing personal concerns. ConclusionThere is a need to re-examine and redefine the meaning of vaccine hesitancy in young Australian adults. We offer an understanding of prospective challenges with vaccine hesitancy and potential solutions to address them. These include carefully tailored approaches regarding ongoing vaccine safety concerns and the expected personal benefits following vaccination. Combining these factors can aid in developing new methods of public engagement in the next public health crisis.

Dynamics of COVID-19 blame attribution: A corpus-based analysis of readers’ comments in response to UK online news

This study adopts a longitudinal approach to analyse the attribution of blame in online comments for the emergence, continuation and consequences of COVID-19. It uses an innovative approach to distil a specialised corpus of readers’ comments in response to UK online news articles about COVID-19, before applying corpus linguistic techniques to identify the principal actors attributed as blame agents. The research found that both internal (the government and the prime minister) and external actors (China and the World Health Organization) were identified as blame agents in comments. The analysis also indicates the presence of blame attribution towards people, their own actions and behaviours, which, in part, may be a consequence of government and public health messaging that emphasised individual responsibility to reduce transmission of the virus. This is distinctive, with significance for public understanding of COVID-19 and for future pandemic communication planning.

Perceptions about the COVID-19 disease and the vaccination of those arriving at a vaccination center are correlated with medical public health services management

<b>Background:</b> Perceptions of COVID-19 and vaccination depend on personal beliefs, experiences, and trust in health authorities’ information. Cultural and social factors also influence perceptions. Effective government messaging can minimize barriers to vaccination.<br /> <b>Methodology:</b> This cross-sectional research examines socio-demographic parameters related to risk factors, conducted using questionnaires at the vaccination center of Hippokrateio General Hospital of Athens, Greece (n=167), in the last quarter of 2022. Participants were asked to answer questions regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a measurement tool for assessing good health status developed by the World Health Organization. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS v26.<br /> <b>Results:</b> The study found that women perceive vaccines to cause more harm than men, with younger individuals viewing the infection as harmless. Educational level also influences vaccine side effects and long-term harm. Perceptions of COVID-19 differ based on vaccination status.<br /> <b>Conclusions:</b> This research confirms the link between socio-demographic variables and pandemic severity perception, emphasizing the importance of correlated with medical public health services management in enhancing communication strategies and creating effective vaccination campaigns.

Message framing and trust as moderated mediating mechanisms for effective government response to uncertain risk messages

This study explores moderating and mediating mechanisms that determine the effectiveness of government responses to media messages about a risk. Focusing on the risk of radiation-contaminated water originating from Japan, it investigates how uncertainty, gain and loss frames, and trust affect the risk communication process. A survey experiment tested the extent to which media messages about a risk in conjunction with government responses to those messages would either amplify or dampen an unwarranted reaction to the risk (in this case, the intention to refrain from consuming seafood). The experiment was conducted among 982 adult residents of South Korea and consisted of a 2 message uncertainty (mentioned vs. not mentioned) × 2 government response frame (gain vs. loss) between-subjects design with conditions randomly assigned. Our conditional process model (Model 12 using PROCESS macro) yielded three main findings. First, neither the uncertainty of the message nor the type of government response frame had significant direct or interaction effects on unwarranted behavioral intention (UBI). Second, among those with a high level of basic trust in government (BTG), government messages with a gain frame generated a higher level of trust in the government’s response (TGR). Third, a gain-framed government response also generated a lower level of UBI via TGR, but only among those with a high level of BTG.

Negotiating un/sanitary citizenship: the reception of UK government COVID-19 public health messaging by racialised people highly exposed to infection

Governments across the world differently invoked citizen responsibility for responding to the risk of COVID-19 infection. Approaches which focused on changing social practices served to reinforce distinctions between ‘sanitary’ and ‘unsanitary’ citizenship. This paper examines citizens’ responses to public health policy messaging, exploring as a case study the reception of UK Government messaging about responsible behaviour during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine the public responses to such messaging from narrative interviews with 43 people who became ill with COVID-19. These interviews were with people who identified as members of the minoritised religious and racialised groups, who were most heavily burdened by the impact of COVID-19. Interviewees challenged assumptions that they were ‘irresponsible’ for having caught COVID-19, and instead directed attention towards the ways in which pandemic guidance was unworkable. Some actively critiqued government messaging, questioning the problematic racialisation of pandemic messaging and challenging individual responsibilisation for the management of the pandemic. Through this analysis we demonstrate the active role of citizens in enacting, and at times resisting, health policy.

Komunikasi Politik Dalam Konteks Sejarah

Political communication in a historical context views human life as inseparable from its activities. The aim of this research is to describe the dynamics of the history of political communication in Indonesia. The method used is descriptive qualitative. The history of political communication in Indonesia starts from the Colonial Era, political communication in Indonesia was limited by the colonial government's control over media and information. Nevertheless, the nationalist movement began to use print media, such as newspapers, as a means of spreading the idea of ​​independence. History of political communication in the Era of the Struggle for Independence, political communication became crucial in forming unity and a spirit of resistance against colonialists. Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) emerged as an important communication channel in this period. In the history of political communication in the Old Orde r Era, political propaganda was the main tool in forming public opinion. Political speeches in stadiums and the use of mass media such as newspapers and radio are used to convey political messages. The history of political communication in the New Orde r, the government had complete control over the media. Suharto's speeches and emphasis on "Pancasila as the state ideology" became the dominant pattern in political communication. Television became the main tool for conveying government messages. History of political communication in the Reform Era, Indonesia experienced significant changes in political communication. Mass media developed rapidly, and freedom of expression was increasingly recognized. More open general elections and more plural political dynamics encourage an increase in the role of the media in shaping public opinion

Indonesian Government's Communication Messages on Covid-19 in the Perspective of Intermedia Agenda-Setting

The development of media towards digitalization has an impact on every field, including the public communication messages conveyed by the government, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. It caused various responses from the public. The use of agenda-setting theory is considered quite adaptive in facing the changing times, and even in the digital era like today. This happened to the Indonesian leader who wrote a tweet about the New Normal in several fields as solutions facing the Covid-19 pandemic. Community responses related to Responses to Local Governments, Economic Issues, and Health Protocols were measured by big data analysis by using the IMM system for online media analysis and the ISA system for Twitter analysis. The results show that the intermedia agenda-setting or the transfer of issues from online media to Twitter happened on government public communication messages on the topic of New Normal and vice versa. However, discussions on Twitter about Local Governments led to discussions on online media and reports on Twitter about Economic Issues caused coverage on online media only. Those results had no responses from online media to Twitter. In addition, on the issue of Health Protocol, each agenda on online media and Twitter differed from one another. Keywords: Government messages, intermedia agenda-setting, online media, public communication, Twitter.

Mental Health, Messaging and Security in Times of Crisis

This paper considers the effects of wider mental health issues on possible crisis responses actioned by the Australian government, especially responses to extend-ed disruptions to everyday life. Lockdown protests and prominent conspiratorial narratives leading to socially destructive behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic – ranging from violent protests, to the refusal of some population elements to wear masks – give us insight into how the social risks of crises manifest, as well as an opportunity to better understand how governments may mitigate such risks. Using the COVID pandemic as a guide, the paper gives some practical policy recommendations for more effective engagement with mental health stress-ors inherent in an extended crisis, as well as suggestions for more nuanced crisis communication from government that may mitigate the heightened security risks inherent in such crises. Keywords: Conspiracy theories, psychology, sociology, crisis, security policy, government messaging

Democracy, impartiality and the online political activity of Aotearoa New Zealand’s public sector employees: similarities and differences with other Westminster countries

ABSTRACT While some hail social media as improving political participation, some governments have received social media with a touch of trepidation; concerned that public servants’ online political activity might threaten the public service’s reputed impartiality. Recent research from some Westminster countries where government messaging about social media have been especially cautious have found a negative relationship between public sector employment and online political activity. But what about public sector employees in Aotearoa New Zealand, where, comparative research suggests, the tone and substance of social media guidelines are less risk-averse than other Westminster countries? Using data from the 2014, 2017 and 2020 New Zealand Election Study, this article examines the relationship between public sector employment and online activity with several multivariate regression models. The results lead to two conclusions. First, consistent with research from other countries, a negative relationship has emerged over time between public sector employment and online political activity in Aotearoa New Zealand. Second, although public sector employees are less politically active online relative to other citizens, the substantive size of this gap is not as great as that found in other Westminster countries. The implications of these findings for the state of democracy and impartiality in Aotearoa New Zealand are discussed.

Innovate and Stockpile: Respiratory Protection for Essential Workers in a Catastrophic Pandemic.

Innovate and Stockpile: Respiratory Protection for Essential Workers in a Catastrophic Pandemic.

Community-led responses to COVID-19 within Gypsy and Traveller communities in England: A participatory qualitative research study

Individuals were asked to play an active role in infection control in the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet while government messages emphasised taking responsibility for the public good (e.g. to protect the National Health Service), they appeared to overlook social, economic and political factors affecting the ways that people were able to respond.We co-produced participatory qualitative research with members of Gypsy and Traveller communities in England between October 2021 and February 2022 to explore how they had responded to COVID-19, its containment (test, trace, isolate) and the contextual factors affecting COVID-19 risks and responses within the communities.Gypsies and Travellers reported experiencing poor treatment from health services, police harassment, surveillance, and constrained living conditions. For these communities, claiming the right to health in an emergency required them to rely on community networks and resources.They organised collective actions to contain COVID-19 in the face of this ongoing marginalisation, such as using free government COVID-19 tests to support self-designed protective measures including community-facilitated testing and community-led contact tracing. This helped keep families and others safe while minimising engagement with formal institutions.In future emergencies, communities must be given better material, political and technical support to help them to design and implement effective community-led solutions, particularly where government institutions are untrusted or untrustworthy.

COVID-19 vaccination decisions among Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities: A qualitative study moving beyond “vaccine hesitancy”

BackgroundMany people refuse vaccination and it is important to understand why. Here we explore the experiences of individuals from Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller groups in England to understand how and why they decided to take up or to avoid COVID-19 vaccinations. MethodsWe used a participatory, qualitative design, including wide consultations, in-depth interviews with 45 individuals from Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller, communities (32 female, 13 male), dialogue sessions, and observations, in five locations across England between October 2021 and February 2022. FindingsVaccination decisions overall were affected by distrust of health services and government, which stemmed from prior discrimination and barriers to healthcare which persisted or worsened during the pandemic. We found the situation was not adequately characterised by the standard concept of “vaccine hesitancy”. Most participants had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, usually motivated by concerns for their own and others’ health. However, many participants felt coerced into vaccination by medical professionals, employers, and government messaging. Some worried about vaccine safety, for example possible impacts on fertility. Their concerns were inadequately addressed or even dismissed by healthcare staff. InterpretationA standard "vaccine hesitancy" model is of limited use in understanding vaccine uptake in these populations, where authorities and health services have been experienced as untrustworthy in the past (with little improvement during the pandemic). Providing more information may improve vaccine uptake somewhat; however, improved trustworthiness of health services for GRT communities is essential to increase vaccine coverage. FundingThis paper reports on independent research commissioned and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Policy Research Programme. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, the Department of Health and Social Care or its arm's length bodies, and other Government Departments.

Public response to government alerts saves lives during Russian invasion of Ukraine

War is the cause of tremendous human suffering. To reduce such harm, governments have developed tools to alert civilians of imminent threats. Whether these systems are effective remains largely unknown. We study the introduction of an innovative smartphone application that notifies civilians of impending military operations developed in coordination with the Ukrainian government after the Russian invasion. We leverage quasi-experimental variation in the timing of more than 3,000 alerts to study civilian sheltering behavior, using high-frequency geolocation pings tied to 17 million mobile devices, 60% of the connected population in Ukraine. We find that, overall, civilians respond sharply to alerts, quickly seeking shelter. These rapid postalert changes in population movement attenuate over time, however, in a manner that cannot be explained by adaptive sheltering behavior or calibration to the signal quality of alerts. Responsiveness is weakest when civilians have been living under an extended state of emergency, consistent with the presence of an alert fatigue effect. Our results suggest that 35 to 45% of observed civilian casualties were avoided because of public responsiveness to the messaging system. Importantly, an additional 8 to 15% of civilian casualties observed during the later periods of the conflict could have been avoided with sustained public responsiveness to government alerts. We provide evidence that increasing civilians' risk salience through targeted government messaging can increase responsiveness, suggesting a potential policy lever for sustaining public engagement during prolonged episodes of conflict.

Perspectives of Older Adults on COVID-19 and Influenza Vaccination in Ontario, Canada.

Addressing vaccine hesitancy has become an increasingly important public health priority in recent years. There is a paucity of studies that have focused on vaccine hesitancy among older adults, who are known to be at greater risk of complications from infections such as COVID-19. We aim to explore the attitudes and beliefs of older adults regarding COVID-19 and influenza vaccines in Toronto, Ontario. Older adults enrolled in the Student Senior Isolation Prevention Partnership (SSIPP) program at the University of Toronto were contacted to participate in a phone survey and semi-structured interview. Survey data was analyzed descriptively, and attitude toward vaccination was compared between sociodemographic groups by using Fisher's exact test. Interview audio files were transcribed verbatim and analyzed inductively for themes and sub-themes. All thirty-three (100%) older adults reported that they had received the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Twenty-six (78.8%) participants reported intent to get vaccinated against influenza or had already received the influenza vaccine that year. Notably, only 2 out 7 (28.6%) individuals who did not plan to get vaccinated against influenza believed that vaccines offered by health providers are beneficial and only 3 out of 7 (42.9%) agreed that getting vaccines is a good way to protect oneself from disease. No other significant differences in attitudes among participants were found when compared by gender, ethnicity, or education level. The qualitative data analysis of interview transcripts identified 5 themes that impact vaccine decision making: safety, trust, mistrust, healthcare experience, and information dissemination and education. Our data showed that older adults in the SSIPP program generally had positive views toward vaccination, especially toward the COVID-19 vaccines. However, several concerns regarding the effectiveness of the vaccines were brought up in interviews, such as the speed at which the vaccines were produced and the inconsistency in government messaging.

Staying The Blazes Home: Group Charisma, Government Messaging and COVID-19

This case study of Nova Scotia, Canada, inspects the uptake and circulation of provincial government health messaging during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, organized around the motto “stay the blazes home.” Messaging and collective narratives are analyzed by way of Norbert Elias’s “established/outsider” dynamics, especially focusing on his concepts of “group charisma” and “praise and blame gossip.” Economic realities and identity practices helped make this motto recognizable as a proffered collective call to action around themes of self-restraint rather than neoliberal risk calculation. Outsiders in this collective identity formation are understood to bring more than disease to the province but “anomic infection” itself. Furthermore, the mechanisms of reopening the province are also found in a longstanding and related collective ethos toward hospitality. Finally, the problematic post-pandemic dynamics of established group identity formation are examined.

Imprecision in adverse event reports following immunization against HPV in Japan and COVID-19 in the USA, UK, and Japan-and the effects of vaccine hesitancy and government policy.

Erroneous reports of adverse events following immunization (AEFIs) likely exacerbated the 2013 collapse of Japan's HPV immunization program. A similar phenomenon characterized the first months of COVID-19 immunization programs in the USA, UK, and Japan with high rates of reportedanaphylaxis. These reports illustrate the susceptibility of supposedly objective medical judgments to public anxiety. This study documents inaccuracies in reportedAEFIs using three quantitative methods. One of these quantitative methods revealed that false-positive rates for anaphylaxis reports following HPV and later COVID-19 vaccination ranged from 74 to 91 percent. However, unlike HPV vaccinations in Japan, anaphylaxis reportsfollowing COVID-19 vaccines fell in Japan, the USA and theUK in the latter months of 2021. Nevertheless, false-positive rates for anaphylaxis reports remained high, suggesting a high degree of imprecision in serious AEFI reports from many countriesfor many vaccines. Japan's HPV immunization program indicates that media reports, patient hesitancy, healthcare providers' perspectives on vaccine safety, and consistency of government messaging, all influence report number and accuracy. A parallel publication analyzes in depth how such factors affect AEFI reports. Confidence in the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines may have been bolstered trough rapid monitoring of AEFI reports and communication ofthese findings. This may partly explain the different trajectories of serious AEFI following HPV immunizations in Japan and COVID-19 immunizations in the USA, UK, and Japan.