This report has been written as part of the research collaboration project Fighting pandemics with enhanced risk communication: Messages, compliance and vulnerability during the COVID-19 outbreak (PAN-FIGHT). Project initiator and coordinator is The University of Stavanger, and main project partner institutions are the University of Geneva, Mid-Sweden University, King's College London and DIALOGIK gGmbH. PAN-FIGHT is funded by the Research Council of Norway and runs from August 2020 to September 2022.The Switzerland report has been reviewed by Claudine Burton-Jeangros.1 "The Federal Council is made up of seven members, each of which heads a government department. Decisions are made jointly. The Federal Chancellor supports the government. (…) The Federal Council is the highest executive authority in the country. It comprises seven members, who are elected by the Federal Assembly. The Federal Council's tasks are set out in the Federal Constitution" Admin.ch. (n.d.). The Federal Council. Retrieved February 25, 2021 from https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/federal-council.html.
Objectives: As a risk communication tool, social media was mobilised at an unprecedented level during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined health authorities’ risk communication on social media in response to the pandemic in 2020.Methods: We analysed 1,633 COVID-19-related posts from 15 social media accounts managed by official health authorities in Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.Results: The rate at which the authorities posted about COVID-19 on social media fluctuated throughout 2020. Each account’s posting frequency peaked between March and May 2020, before dropping considerably during the summer. The messages that the organisations focused on also varied throughout the year but covered most risk communication guidelines. Yet, our analysis highlighted themes that were communicated infrequently, such as long COVID or exercising during the pandemic.Conclusion: With more individuals now following health authorities on social media, platforms such as Instagram hold great potential for future risk communication campaigns and strategies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.