University of Minnesota.
Wesleyan University.
J Health Polit Policy Law. 2020 Dec 1;45(6):967-981. doi: 10.1215/03616878-8641506.
The coronavirus public health crisis is also a political-communication and health-communication crisis. In this article, the authors describe the key communication-related phenomena and evidence of concerning effects manifested in the United States during the initial response to the pandemic. The authors outline the conditions of communication about coronavirus that contribute to deleterious outcomes, including partisan cueing, conflicting science, downplayed threats, emotional arousal, fragmented media, and Trump's messaging. The authors suggest these have contributed to divergent responses by media sources, partisan leaders, and the public alike, leading to different attitudes and beliefs as well as varying protective actions taken by members of the public to reduce their risk. In turn, these divergent communication phenomena will likely amplify geographic variation in and inequities with COVID-19 disease outcomes. The authors conclude with some suggestions for future research, particularly surrounding communication about health inequity and strategies for reducing partisan divergence in views of public health issues in the future.
冠状病毒公共卫生危机也是一场政治传播和健康传播危机。在本文中，作者描述了在美国应对大流行初始阶段表现出来的与关键传播相关的现象和令人担忧的影响的证据。作者概述了导致有害后果的与冠状病毒相关的传播条件，包括党派暗示、相互矛盾的科学、被淡化的威胁、情绪唤起、碎片化的媒体以及特朗普的信息传递。作者认为，这些因素导致了媒体、党派领导人和公众的反应各不相同，导致公众成员对疾病的态度和信念不同，以及采取不同的保护措施来降低风险。反过来，这些不同的传播现象可能会加剧 COVID-19 疾病结果的地理差异和不平等。作者最后提出了一些未来研究的建议，特别是围绕健康不平等的传播以及未来减少党派分歧对公共卫生问题看法的策略。
