The importance of policy narrative: effective government responses to Covid-19

Mintrom, Michael; O’Connor, Ruby

doi:10.1080/25741292.2020.1813358

Cited by 74 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…A critically important factor, as we argue in this chapter, is the communicative performance of leaders and the congruence between their words and their governments' deeds (cf. Brunsson, 1989;Mintrom & O'Connor, 2020). To be effective, leaders have to win the 'framing contests' (Boin et al, 2009) in which politicians, journalists, stakeholders, technical experts and social media gurus participate with so much gusto.…”

Section: The Rise and Fall Of Crisis Narrativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crafting Crisis Narratives

Boin

McConnell

Hart

2021

Governing the Pandemic

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Communication is pivotal when a society faces a sudden, disruptive and disturbing event. People want to know what is going on, why it is happening, what is done to safeguard them and what they can to protect themselves. During COVID-19, governments were the main sources of that information, at least initially. Governments tried to shape the attitudes, emotions and behaviours of citizens in accordance with their policies. Over time, alternative crisis narratives emerged and influenced citizen behaviour. This chapter examines crisis communication in the COVID-19 crisis: how did leaders try to ‘make making’ of this unprecedented threat? How did they deal with the alternative crisis frames that emerged over time?

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Section: The Rise and Fall Of Crisis Narrativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crafting Crisis Narratives

Boin

McConnell

Hart

2021

Governing the Pandemic

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“…Other nation states' Purple zones were arguably less effective, some with catastrophic results. Mintrom and O'Connor's 10 timely case study of four US states' responses to COVID-19 underscores the critical importance of combining evidence with consistent narrative.…”

Section: Received 12 January 2021 Accepted 12 January 2021 Publishementioning

confidence: 99%

A purple patch for evidence-based health policy?

Cormack

Boxall

Hullick

et al. 2021

Aust. Health Review

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The global focus on nation states’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic has rightly highlighted the importance of science and evidence as the basis for policy action. Those with a lifelong passion for evidence-based policy (EBP) have lauded Australia’s and other nations’ policy responses to COVID-19 as a breakthrough moment for the cause. This article reflects on the complexity of the public policy process, the perspectives of its various actors, and draws on Alford’s work on the Blue, Red and Purple zones to propose a more nuanced approach to advocacy for EBP in health. We contend that the pathway for translation of research evidence into routine clinical practice is relatively linear, in contrast to the more complex course for translation of evidence to public policy – much to the frustration of health researchers and EBP advocates. Cairney’s description of the characteristics of successful policy entrepreneurs offers useful guidance to advance EBP and we conclude with proposing some practical mechanisms to support it. Finally, we recommend that researchers and policy makers spend more time in the Purple zone to enable a deeper understanding of, and mutual respect for, the unique contributions made by research, policy and political actors to sound public policy.

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“…Some policies in place, such as voluntary physical distancing, wearing of face masks and face shields, mass testing, and school closures, could be effective in one locality but not in another. [7,8,9] Subnational governments like LGUs are confronted with a health crisis that have economic, social and fiscal impact. While urban areas have been hot spots of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are health facilities that are already well in placed as compared to less developed and deprived rural communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local Government Responses for COVID-19 Management in the Philippines

Talabis

Babierra

Buhat

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: Responses of subnational government units are crucial in the containment of the spread of pathogens in a country. To mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine national government through its Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases outlined different quarantine measures wherein each level has a corresponding degree of rigidity from keeping only the essential businesses open to allowing all establishments tooperate at a certain capacity. Other measures also involve prohibiting individuals at a certain age bracket from going outside of their homes. The local government units (LGUs){municipalities and provinces{can adopt any of these measures depending on the extent of the pandemic in their locality. The purpose is to keep the number of infections and mortality at bay while minimizing the economic impact of the pandemic. Some LGUs have demonstrated a remarkable response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to identify notable non-pharmaceutical interventions of these outlying LGUs in the country using quantitative methods.Methods: Data come from public databases such as Philippine Department of Health, Philippine Statistics Authority Census, and Google Community Mobility Reports. These are normalized using Z-transform. For each locality, infection and mortality data (dataset Y ) are compared to the economic, health, and demographic data (dataset X) using Euclidean metric d = (x - y)2, where x ∈ X and y ∈ Y . If a data pair (x; y) exceeds, by two standard deviations, themean of the Euclidean metric values between the sets X and Y , the pair is assumed to be a 'good' outlier.Results: Our results showed that cluster of cities and provinces in Central Luzon (Region III), CALABARZON (Region IV-A), the National Capital Region (NCR), and Central Visayas (Region VII) are the 'good' outliers with respect to factors such as working population, population density, ICU beds, doctors on quarantine, number of frontliners and gross regional domestic product. Among metropolitan cities, Davao was a 'good' outlier with respect to demographic factors. Conclusions: Strict border control, early implementation of lockdowns, establishment of quarantine facilities, effective communication to the public, and monitoring efforts were the defining factors that helped these LGUs curtail the harm that was brought by the pandemic. If these policies are to be standardized, it would help any country's preparedness for future health emergencies.

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The importance of policy narrative: effective government responses to Covid-19

Cited by 74 publications

References 41 publications

Crafting Crisis Narratives

Crafting Crisis Narratives

A purple patch for evidence-based health policy?

Local Government Responses for COVID-19 Management in the Philippines

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