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The vulnerability of mega infrastructure projects (MIPs) has generated online public opinion crises, leading to public trust damage. However, few studies focused on the online dynamic trust of MIPs in such crises from the perspective of multiple users. Based on situational crisis communication theory, this study aims to explore the dynamic public trust in MIPs during online public opinion crises of extreme climate emergencies. The extreme heavy rainstorm event in Zhengzhou City, China, was selected as the case. Content analysis, the curve fitting method, and sentiment analysis were conducted to process the collected data from multiple users. The results indicated that the opinions of trust damage were set by "media practitioners" and led by "elites," whereas the opinions of trust repair were directed by "elites," led by "media practitioners," and defended by "individuals." Besides, trust dimensions would change over time; integrity-based and competence-based trust diffused alternatively. "Diminish," "deny," and "rebuild" strategies were proved to be the most effective strategies in integrity-based, competence-based, and competence and integrity-based trust repair, respectively. The findings can contribute to the authorities monitoring online public opinions in extreme climate emergencies and repairing trustworthy images.

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This study examines the effect of one of three sources of information: a politician (authority figure), a physician (expert), and an ordinary person (non-expert) who appeared in a personal story related to a controversial issue (COVID-19 vaccination) on Facebook, on the willingness to engage with it. Using a between-subjects experiment (N = 848) conducted among Israeli adults (18 and older), we found a higher likelihood of sharing the story in interpersonal conversations than in other types of communications, regardless of the source that appeared in the story. However, respondents with high levels of institutional trust preferred sharing a politician's story, while conspiracy believers tended to comment on an ordinary person's story. The findings of the different patterns of communication behavior among conspiracy believers and people with high trust in political institutes contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the spread of misinformation in the digital age and during times of crisis.

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This study explores the South Korean Deaf community's response to sign language interpreting during the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) health crisis, focusing on individual factors affecting the signers' comprehension. The data were collected from a mobile-based questionnaire survey conducted among 401 Deaf adults; binary probit modelling was adopted to analyse the data. The major findings are: (i) 59.9 per cent of the respondents understood less than 70 per cent of the interpreting; (ii) males and urban residents tend to understand better; (iii) younger people (less than 50 years) and signers with a Bachelor's degree or higher are likely to have lower comprehension; and (iv) Deaf adults who visited a doctor after the COVID-19 outbreak tended to have lower comprehension. The findings demonstrate that individual characteristics, including age, impact significantly on the extent to which Deaf individuals understand the sign language interpreting of COVID-19 information, indicating that steps are needed to achieve a Deaf-inclusive society during a health disaster.

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BACKGROUND: Governments and public health agencies worldwide experienced difficulties with social media-mediated infodemics on the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing public health crisis communication strategies need to be updated. However, crisis communication experiences of governments and public health agencies worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been systematically compiled, necessitating updated crisis communication strategies. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aims to collect and organize the crisis communication experiences of senders (ie, governments and public health agencies) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our focus is on exploring the difficulties that governments and public health agencies experienced, best practices in crisis communication by governments and public health agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic in times of infodemic, and challenges that should be overcome in future public health crises. METHODS: We plan to begin the literature search on May 1, 2024. We will search PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Communication Abstracts, and Web of Science. We will filter our database searches to search from the year 2020 and beyond. We will use a combination of keywords by referring to the SPIDER (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, and Research type) tool to search the abstracts in databases. We intend to include qualitative studies on crisis communication by governments and public health agencies (eg, officials, staff, health professionals, and researchers) to the public. Quantitative data-based studies will be excluded. Only papers written in English will be included. Data on study characteristics, study aim, participant characteristics, methodology, theoretical framework, object of crisis communication, and key results will be extracted. The methodological quality of eligible studies will be assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist for qualitative research. A total of 2 independent reviewers will share responsibility for screening publications, data extraction, and quality assessment. Disagreement will be resolved through discussion, and the third reviewer will be consulted, if necessary. The findings will be summarized in a table and a conceptual diagram and synthesized in a descriptive and narrative review. RESULTS: The results will be systematically integrated and presented in a way that corresponds to our research objectives and interests. We expect the results of this review to be submitted for publication by the end of 2024. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this will be the first systematic review of the experiences of governments and public health agencies regarding their crisis communication to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. This review will contribute to the future improvement of the guidelines for crisis communication by governments and public health agencies to the public. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42024528975; https://tinyurl.com/4fjmd8te. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/58040.

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This paper addresses the critiques based on trade-offs and normativity presented in response to our target article proposing the Public Health Emergency Risk and Crisis Communication (PHERCC) framework. These critiques highlight the ethical dilemmas in crisis communication, particularly the balance between promoting public autonomy through transparent information and the potential stigmatization of specific population groups, as illustrated by the discussion of the mpox outbreak among men who have sex with men. This critique underscores the inherent tension between communication effectiveness and autonomy versus fairness and equity. In response, our paper reiterates the adaptability of the PHERCC framework, emphasizing its capacity to tailor messages to diverse audiences, thereby reducing potential stigmatization and misinformation. Through community engagement and feedback integration, the PHERCC framework aims to optimize the effectiveness of communication strategies while addressing ethical concerns. Furthermore, by involving affected communities in the communication strategy from the onset, the framework seeks to minimize ethical trade-offs and enhance the acceptance and effectiveness of public health messages.

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This study uses Twitter data from the early stages of the pandemic to analyze the evolution of topics during different time periods and attempts to investigate the content and emotional impact of opinion leaders on public opinion evolution under different themes, in order to understand their role in shaping public discourse and emotions. Divide the life cycle into three stages; NLTK emotional analysis and dynamic topic models (DTMs) are employed to extract and analyze topic words. The results showed that there were significant differences between opinion leaders and followers in terms of hot topics and their evolution trends: (1) In terms of hot topics, opinion leaders have always been paying attention to measures and methods aimed at the public, while followers usually have persist in seeking information and dissatisfaction. (2) In terms of identifying and evolving hot topics, opinion leaders have shifted from the impact of the epidemic on individuals and resources to government responses and policies, while followers are more inclined to express people's growing concerns and dissatisfaction with crisis management. The content of opinion leaders has a significant relationship with evolving public opinion, highlighting the importance of understanding their role in crisis communication. Opinion leaders are also categorized into five types, each with different audience sizes, contents, emotions, and network structures, and they impact public opinion differently. This study identifies and analyzes the characteristics and impact mechanisms of opinion leaders in crisis communication. It hopes to contribute to understanding crisis communication dynamics in the digital era and provide insights into effective communication strategies during crises.

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This scoping review maps communication strategies employed by political leaders in countries that experienced high infection rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the Arksey and O'Malley scoping review framework, this study systematically explored the literature from 2019 to October 2023. The process involved identifying and selecting relevant studies, charting them, and summarizing the data from the 40 articles that met the inclusion criteria. This review identified a diverse array of communication strategies, which highlight the complex nature of crisis communication. These strategies featured the use of social media, science-based policy communication, strategic narrative control, empathy, ideological influences, and storytelling. These six approaches underscore the importance of adaptability and context-specific strategies in political leadership during a health crisis. The findings demonstrate that political communication during the pandemic varied significantly and was influenced by factors such as media platform, political ideology, gender, and non-verbal cues. This review enriches our understanding of crisis communication in political contexts. It emphasizes the necessity of combining traditional and digital media and considering various sociopolitical factors. The insights gained are crucial for enhancing crisis management and public trust, and they set the stage for further research and practical application in crisis communication.

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OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess COVID-related communication by Swiss public health institutions (PHI) as well as the challenges they faced in implementing their communication strategies. STUDY DESIGN: This study uses a two-part mixed methods design, combining automated content analysis of press releases by PHI and semi-structured interviews with PHI communication experts. METHODS: The automated content analysis uses natural language processing techniques to measure semantic themes and linguistic properties of 1882 press releases from national and regional PHI during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The semi-structured interviews with 25 communication experts from key PHI explore the challenges faced in implementing their communication strategies. RESULTS: The content analysis reveals key themes in press releases, including non-pharmaceutical interventions, quarantine, testing, contact tracing, hospital situations, and the pandemic's impact on the economy. The linguistic measures indicated a decrease in complexity and readability over time, with no significant differences between national and regional PHI. Interviews revealed challenges arising from organizational structures, the multi-systemic nature of the pandemic, and from expectations of the public. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the importance of agility in public health communication and the need for efficient coordination within and between PHI. Organizational structures should be adapted to allow for more agile modes of operation during crises. Policymakers should clarify roles and responsibilities of different actors in public health frameworks to ensure streamlined communication. Understanding the communication efforts and challenges faced by PHI during the pandemic helps preparing for future health crises and improve public health communication practices.

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Crisis communication plays a crucial role in preserving the national reputation during significant national crises. From the perspective of Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), this research paper analyzed over 1,790,816 YouTube comments from Chinese-speaking audiences, using sentiment analysis alongside the Difference-in-Differences (DiD) model, in order to investigate the influence of strategic crisis communication on public perceptions during public health crises. The study findings indicate that during this public health crisis, YouTube Chinese media, whose audience mainly consists of overseas Chinese-speaking users, primarily incorporated the enhancing strategies, succeeded by the diminish strategies, with limited application of deny strategies, while the use of rebuild strategies was virtually absent in this context. In addition, the research analysis confirms that Chinese media effectively increased the public's positive perceptions of crisis events through crisis communication. Particularly, enhancing strategies proved most effective in improving public perceptions, followed by diminish strategies. In contrast, deny strategies failed to influence public perceptions of the crisis, and rebuild strategies demonstrated a negative impact on public perception. Thus, the research findings of this paper extend essential insights for effectively managing potential public health crises in the future.

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Risk and crisis communication (RCC) is a current ethical issue subject to controversy, mainly due to the tension between individual liberty (a core component of fairness) and effectiveness. In this paper we propose a consistent definition of the RCC process in public health emergencies (PHERCC), which comprises six key elements: evidence, initiator, channel, publics, message, and feedback. Based on these elements and on a detailed analysis of their role in PHERCC, we present an ethical framework to help design, govern and evaluate PHERCC strategies. The framework aims to facilitate RCC, incorporating effectiveness, autonomy, and fairness. It comprises five operational ethical principles: openness, transparency, inclusivity, understandability, and privacy. The resulting matrix helps understanding the interplay between the PHERCC process and the principles of the framework. The paper includes suggestions and recommendations for the implementation of the PHERCC matrix.

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BACKGROUND: Interpersonal communication is a cornerstone of patient-centered care. We aimed to identify what patients with cancer and caregivers may want from communication during a public health crisis. METHODS: We interviewed 15 patients (8 Veteran, 7 non-Veteran) and caregivers from regionally, racially, and ethnically diverse backgrounds across the US about serious illness care and quality of care during the COVID-19 pandemic Using an iterative, inductive and deductive process, 2 coders analyzed content associated with the code "Communication," which appeared 71 times, and identified 5 themes. RESULTS: Participants identified as White (10), Latino/a (3), Asian (1), and Black (1). (1) Help patients and caregivers prepare for care during crisis by communicating medical information directly and proactively. (2) Explain how a crisis might influence medical recommendations and impact on recovery from illness. (3) Use key messengers to improve communication between primary teams, patients, and caregivers. (4) Include caregivers and families in communication when they cannot be physically present. (5) Foster bidirectional communication with patients and families to engage them in shared decision-making during a vulnerable time. CONCLUSION: Communication is critical during a public health crisis yet overwhelmed clinicians may not be able to communicate effectively. Communicating with caregivers and family, transparent and timely communication, ensuring diverse providers are on the same page, and effective listening are known gaps even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinicians may need quick interventions, like education about goals of care, to remind them about what seriously ill patients and their caregivers want from communication and offer patient-centered care during crises.

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BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered extreme preventive measures, including economic and social lockdowns. Many experts and commentators, however, have argued in favor of a harm reduction approach, giving individuals the liberty to assess their risk and potentially engage in risky behavior more safely. Drawing on concepts from harm reduction literature we examine how Canadians interpreted messages intended to mitigate harm during the 2020 end-of-year holiday season. METHODS: We conducted 12 focus groups in four Canadian cities to discuss public health guidance to reduce the spread of COVID-19, how these messages influenced their holiday celebration plans, and how they interpreted harm mitigation messages. RESULTS: Focus group participants (n = 82) described COVID-19 public health guidance as confusing and difficult to follow. Participants considered that messages intended to mitigate harm from official sources would contribute to deepening confusion and uncertainty, allow for personal interpretation of guidelines, and discourage those who follow guidelines diligently. CONCLUSION: Official public health messaging intended to mitigate harm in rapidly evolving crisis situations can be ineffective in reducing risky behaviors because it may instead encourage people to not abide the recommended guidelines. In these situations, harm reduction messaging should be limited to specific groups who cannot otherwise avoid risk exposure.

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BACKGROUND: Opioid overdose is the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. Individuals who overdose outside of clinical settings have more positive clinical outcomes when they receive naloxone, an opioid antagonist, from a bystander as an early intervention before emergency personnel arrive. However, there is a gap in knowledge about successful instantaneous learning and intervention in a real-life stressful environment. The objective of this study is to explore the efficacy of different instructional delivery methods for bystanders in a stressful environment. We aim to evaluate which methods are most effective for instantaneous learning, successful intervention, and improved clinical outcomes. METHODS: To explore instantaneous learning in a stressful environment, we conducted a quantitative randomized controlled trial to measure how accurately individuals responded to memory-based survey questions guided by different instructional methods. Students from a large university in the Midwest (n = 157) were recruited in a public space on campus and accessed the six-question survey on their mobile devices. The intervention group competed the survey immediately while the research team created a distracting environment. The control group was asked to complete the survey later in a quiet environment. RESULTS: The intervention group correctly answered 0.72 questions fewer than the control group (p = .000, CI [0.337, 1.103]). Questions Q1 and Q5 contained direct instructions with a verbal component and showed the greatest accuracy with over 90% correct for both stressful and controlled environments. CONCLUSIONS: The variability in the responses suggests that there are environmental factors as well as instructional design features which influence instantaneous learning. The findings of this study begin to address the gap in knowledge about the effects of stress on instantaneous learning and the most effective types of instruction for untrained bystanders in emergency situations.

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The purpose of this paper was to assess Twitter as a means of communication during tourism crises with the following objectives: (a) identify the topics that are discussed, (b) establish the text sentiment, and (c) determine the differences in gender regarding the topics under discussion and the text sentiment. The data were collected from Twitter between March and April 2020. Using big data software, this study extracted 123,868 tweets globally in different languages through the Twitter API of popular tourism hashtags. Two techniques were applied: word association and sentiment analysis. The results show that the communication made through Tweets has the characteristics of a crisis communication related to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the tourism industry. The theoretical contribution of the research is that Twitter in social media is an effective means of communication during pandemic crises and contributes to reducing negative perceptions and adverse effects of the tourism crises in companies and destinations. The practical contribution of the research is that Twitter can be used as a means of communication helping the communication strategies of companies and organizations.

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Public health nurses (PHNs) are among the few municipal civil servants who lead community infection control and prevention initiatives in Japanese public health centers (PHCs). This study aims to investigate the distress faced by PHNs and clarify their difficulties and working environment relative to infection prevention control activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. We adopted a qualitative description methodology in this study of 12 PHNs who were involved in COVID-19 prevention and control in PHCs in Prefecture A. The distress during the early phase of the pandemic was due to the uncertainty of the SARS-CoV-2 related disease, which caused panic in medical institutions and among residents. PHNs were overwhelmed, distressed and exhausted by their inability to control the 'pandemic', lack of patient cooperation for prevention control and the unsustainable organizational environment. They were also distressed because they were one of the specialized personnel responsible for saving residents' lives with limited medical resources and while having identity crises due to an inability to carry out the PHN's role of controlling infection in the community. For future crises, rapid, drastic innovation defying conventional organizational systems is critical to reform sustainable organizations so that they play an effective role in the community. Innovation in crisis communication and strengthening the medical system will help achieve a resilient community in a health crisis.

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Social media have been the arena of different types of discourse during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to characterize public discourse during health crises in different international communities. Using Tweetpy and keywords related to the research, we collected 3,748,302 posts from the English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish Twitter communities related to two crises during the pandemic: (a) the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, and (b) the Omicron variant. In relation to AstraZeneca, 'blood clot' was the main focus of public discourse. Using quantitative classifications and natural language processing algorithms, results are obtained for each language. The English and French discourse focused more on "death", and the most negative sentiment was generated by the French community. The Portuguese discourse was the only one to make a direct reference to a politician, the former Brazilian President Bolsonaro. In the Omicron crisis, the public discourse mainly focused on infection cases follow-up and the number of deaths, showing a closer public discourse to the actual risk. The public discourse during health crises might lead to different behaviours. While public discourse on AstraZeneca might contribute as a barrier for preventive measures by increasing vaccine hesitancy, the Omicron discourse could lead to more preventive behaviours by the public, such as the use of masks. This paper broadens the scope of crisis communication by revealing social media's role in the constructs of public discourse.

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Communication is an essential component of crisis management strategies in hospitality and tourism. This study aimed to build on the integrated internal crisis communication framework. This study employed qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Following a preliminary qualitative study, a conceptual model was developed and tested with a total of 806 responses. The results showed that the approach and content of internal crisis communication messages directly affected employees' evaluations of their organizations' crisis management efforts and their psychological safety, both of which further affected their perceived social resilience and turnover intentions. Furthermore, the results of multigroup analyses revealed the different impacts of internal crisis communication on participants who were in full-time positions vs. part-time positions and salaried employees vs. hourly employees. Finally, theoretical and practical implications were provided based on the research findings.

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The COVID-19 pandemic enhanced social media communications at a time individuals were unable to leave their homes due to the lockdown measures. A lack of research has been identified on how destination marketing organizations use social media during global health crises. Addressing this gap, the present research uses a mixed-method approach to examine the use of Instagram by Milan and Paris' Destination Marketing Organizations before and during COVID-19 and user engagement with it. Via a quantitative content analysis, Study 1 reveals communication differences between destinations and a change in promotion focus during the pandemic. Both DMOs focus on posts portraying "Culture, History and Art", which signifies stability and eternity as opposed to uncertain times. Using a thematic analysis, Study 2 reveals that both organizations promoted pro-social behavior also by employing influencers. Overall, research results document tourism organizations' pro-social use of social media during a global health crisis.

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COVID-19 created a challenging environment both for businesses and individuals. Effects of the pandemic on companies had the potential to create negative public relations as entities attempted to deal with the worldwide crisis and to communicate their situation. Many companies were quick to provide information to customers and employees early in the pandemic about how they were responding to the crisis, while other companies provided limited immediate response to COVID-19. An examination of the top 300 companies listed in the 2020 Fortune 500 found that 186 of those companies communicated their status and plans in press releases posted from January 2020 through May 2020 regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. This study, based on Situational Crisis Communication Theory, qualitatively analyzed the releases via constant comparative method. The analysis resulted in four primary categories that dominated company releases: (1) In This Together, (2) Perseverance Through Strength, (3) We are Here for You, and (4) Fighting for the Team.

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Background: Mixed messaging among health officials are prevalent amid COVID-19. Crisis communication strategies have the potential to help health officials effectively address issues such as mixed messages and improve their crisis communication efficacy. However, there is a dearth of insights in the literature. Therefore, to bridge the research gap, this study aims to examine practical strategies health officials can utilize to improve their crisis communication efficacy. Methods: A literature review on effective crisis communication strategies amid COVID-19 was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and PsycINFO, with a focus on scholarly literature published in English. Results: The findings of the study identified the following strategies that health officials can utilize to improve their crisis communication capabilities: (1) develop fact-based, transparent, and accountable messaging, (2) utilize people-centered and empathetic persuasive strategies, and (3) leverage international collaboration for consistent messaging and comprehensive crisis communication. Conclusion: COVID-19 has challenged health officials with unprecedented crisis communication duties and responsibilities. In this study, we underscored the importance of effective crisis communication amid global health emergencies like COVID-19, and identified communication strategies health officials could adopt or adapt to improve their crisis communication efficacy. Future research could explore strategies health officials can use to better communicate with government officials and media professionals to further help health officials improve their crisis communication capabilities, their abilities to avoid preventable miscommunication or mixed messaging, and in turn, society's collective strengthen in curbing and controlling the pandemic.

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