Drawing from the ‘bank of credibility’: perspectives of health officials and the public on media handling of the H1N1 pandemic

Abstract

The H1N1 global pandemic of 2009-10 was moderate in its severity, which led many members of the public to denounce news organizations for 'hyping' the threat posed by the virus. This outcome was troubling as it portended a potentially cynical public audience in the event of a future emerging infectious disease. As we face a new Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) with COVID-19, public trust in public health information and mediated messaging is more important than ever. Health authorities aim to inform the public through various avenues, particularly by engaging news media as a bridge to deliver pertinent information. We draw on the Trust, Confidence, and Cooperation (TCC) Model to examine how citizens and health officers evaluated news coverage of the H1N1 pandemic in Canada and the impact it had on public trust in public health recommendations. Following the H1N1 pandemic, we conducted interviews (n ¼ 28) with senior health officials in Canadian federal and provincial jurisdictions and focus groups with general population Canadians (n ¼ 130) in three provinces. Findings showed that many health officials and members of the public considered that the pandemic H1N1 was hyped in news coverage and that the immunization campaign was portrayed as chaotic, potentially affecting trust in pandemic messaging and response activities. Our results highlight the key role of news coverage in pandemic communication. Further, we recommend that health authorities complement their media engagement with direct communication with citizens; and increased training for public health officers to engage with news media and promote public trust. The lessons of this study remain crucially relevant given that legacy news media continue to be important sources of health information as the world fights to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

The effect of COVID-19 on public confidence in the World Health Organization: a natural experiment among 40 countries

“…It is also important to note that news media coverage of how the WHO responds to the virus can also affect public trust. The pandemic H1N1 of 2009–2010 was hyped in news coverage and potentially affected confidence in pandemic messaging and response activities [ 46 ]. In addition, the “infodemic” named by the WHO, which means an overload of information especially false and harmful messages during an outbreak of disease [ 47 ], can also sway people's judgement, discredit health authorities and worsen outbreaks.…”

Risk Communication in the Alert Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of News Flow at National and Global Levels

“…With the ability to quickly disseminate information to a large number of consumers from multiple sources, the news media have been an important channel for the public to seek risk-related information [ 5 , 16 , 17 ]. In public health emergencies of international concern, media coverage is critical [ 18 ], which has the potential to influence people’s perceptions and attitudes about the issues that are involved and ultimately influence their response to a crisis in ways that may have immediate and long-term effects on society [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. It can even serve as a primary power compared with the spread of the disease to draw the public’s attention and lead their reaction [ 16 ].…”