Abstract
In this chapter, the authors are looking for the answer to how novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has influenced health communication in online platforms. The aim was to investigate with a newer qualitative research method (netnography) how the scenes of communication have been changed during the COVID-19 crisis. The content of some popular online public forums was analyzed that came up during the outbreak in Hungary. The participant opinions and attitudes regarding health communication of COVID-19 crisis management were observed. The community acceptance of two measures were investigated: necessity of wearing a mask and the mandatory evacuation of hospital beds. These topics divided the opinion of the citizens. In spite of the efficient COVID-19 outbreak management, there were very extreme and different opinions (skepticism, indignation, accusation, acceptance) in the online community about the accuracy and reliability of health communication. The results may support the future improvement of health crisis management.
TopNovel Trends In Healthcare Communication
Health communication is important to influence, engage individuals, communities, health professionals, policy makers, facilitates behavioural change and improves health outcome (Schiavo, 2013).
Four milestones can be identified in the evolution of public health communication (Salmon & Poorisat, 2020):
- 1.
early use of mass communication in public health campaigns,
- 2.
monitoring the effects,
- 3.
searching for interdisciplinary explanation, and
- 4.
formal recognition of health communication as a separate field of theory and practice.
Healthcare is a professional service where possession of the adequate amount of information is very important to decrease the perceived risk before and throughout the medical process and influence health behaviour (Vajda et al., 2012).
The personalized empathetic service, patient-centered communication and the involvement of patients into the decision-making are basic elements of the modern healthcare (Wolff, 1989; Volmann, 2008). Donabedian emphasizes the importance of interpersonal relations, the proper communication to improve the quality of healthcare service and increase the patients’ satisfaction (Donabedian, 1988). According to World Health Organization (WHO), the following attributes influence the effectiveness of health communication: accuracy, availability, balance, consistency, cultural competence, repetition, timeliness and understandability (WHO, 2017). The scene and mood of the traditional patient-physician interaction has changed substantially in the past decades.
Key Terms in this Chapter
COVID-19: The abbreviation stands for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is a contagious airborne infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first case was reported from Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease has since spread worldwide, leading to an ongoing pandemic with 114 million cases and 2,5 million deaths by the end of February 2021.
Health Communication: Type of communication that targets individuals, communities, health professionals, policymakers in order to facilitate behavioural changes and improve health outcome. The effectiveness of the communication depends on understandability, repetition, accuracy, consistency, availability, and timeliness.
Operative Board: Coordination and decision-making committee in Hungary that was set up at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is headed by the Interior Minister and the Minister of Human Resources.
Netnography: A qualitative research method that observes and interprets social interaction within online communities and social media platforms.
Infodemic: Exponential increase of the information volume within a short period of time in connection with a specific incident (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic). The credibility of information may be endangered by misinformation, rumors, and manipulation of information. The information may be disseminated very quickly through social networks.
Social media: Characterized by user-generated content, online community, rapid distribution of information and opened, two-way dialogue. Social media includes virtual game worlds, collaborative projects, virtual social worlds, blogs and microblogs, social networking sites, content communities.
Risk: Communication: Interaction process, exchange and dissemination of real-time information to the public about threatening health, social or economic situations. The main purpose of the communication is to support the people at risk and to help informed decisions.