Zalcberg-Block Sima
School of Social Work, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.
Int J Equity Health. 2025 Jun 11;24(1):169. doi: 10.1186/s12939-025-02445-y.
Religious minority groups posed challenges to health authorities in Western countries, by violating guidelines for fighting Covid-19, many times from lack of access to relevant health information. This phenomenon occurred among the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) population in Israel - a religious minority whose many members violated Israeli Ministry of Health guidelines, causing high rates of infection.
The study aims to examine messages dissemination regarding Covid-19, among the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel, via an alternative-"traditional"-communication channel used by this community over the years: street posters (pashkevils).
Thematic analysis of 20 pashkevils collected during the first year of Covid-19.
Findings revealed three major discourses emerging via these pashkevils: A medical support discourse, calling for compliance with medical authority guidelines; An oppositional discourse, expressing strong objection toward medical authority guidelines; and a theological discourse, explaining the pandemic in theological terms, mainly related to immodesty.
Findings provide insights regarding the ability of religious leadership to take action to influence the health of the ultra-Orthodox community by disseminating messages and controlling access to information; the intersection of communication, religion, and health; the importance of identifying communication channels unique to religious minorities in order to learn their perspectives regarding health behaviors; and to use these channels for culturally adapted information dissemination.
宗教少数群体给西方国家的卫生当局带来了挑战，他们多次违反抗击新冠疫情的指导方针，原因多是无法获取相关健康信息。这种现象在以色列的极端正统派（哈雷迪）人群中出现——这是一个宗教少数群体，其许多成员违反了以色列卫生部的指导方针，导致感染率居高不下。
本研究旨在通过以色列极端正统派社区多年来使用的一种另类的——“传统的”——传播渠道：街头海报（帕什凯维尔），来考察该社区内关于新冠疫情的信息传播情况。
对在新冠疫情第一年收集的20张街头海报进行主题分析。
研究结果揭示了通过这些街头海报出现的三大话语：一种医疗支持话语，呼吁遵守医疗当局的指导方针；一种反对话语，对医疗当局的指导方针表示强烈反对；以及一种神学话语，从神学角度解释疫情，主要涉及不端庄行为。
研究结果提供了以下几方面的见解：宗教领袖通过传播信息和控制信息获取来影响极端正统派社区健康的行动能力；传播、宗教和健康的交叉点；识别宗教少数群体特有的传播渠道以了解他们对健康行为的看法的重要性；以及利用这些渠道进行文化适应性信息传播。
