Understanding Effective Risk Communication in the Context of Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) in Ghana.

Abstract

Background: In the era of public health crises, the public experience fear and panic, hence the need to communicate to the public to reduce these fears and panic, and turn them into positives to empower the public to take actions to mitigate the risk (CDC, 2014) but effective risk communication is very key in the midst of critical situation to prevent public outrage. Ghana had two confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the 12th of March, 2020 after WHO declared COVID-19 as pandemic, with the origin of the disease from Wuhan in China. Meanwhile, Ghana had many suspected cases in early February, 2020. The Ministry of Health (MOH)/Ghana Health Service (GHS) used and is still using press releases, press briefings, jingles, text messages and others to communicate risk to the Ghanaian population but it appeared there were uprising COVID-19 cases in some communities and institutions like Obuasi, Tema fish processing factory, BOST, COCOBOD and others. This study intends to gain in-depth understanding of effective risk communication in the context of COVID-19 in Ghana. Methodology: There was ethical clearance before the research started. The research geography was Ghana, with about 30million people. Secondary online/soft copy data from credible institutions/organizations and academic papers were collected purposively and conveniently, reviewed and critiqued, from January to July, 2020. Some of the target institutions were MOH/GHS, WHO, CDC, and UNICEF because they are key players in the medical fraternity. Exploratory and descriptive research approaches were used to understand and determine the behavioural patterns of Ghanaians in the COVID-19 risk communication. Findings: High incidence of Community or institutional-based infections, Community agitations, discovery of some peculiar features of COVID-19 risk perception such as faith thoughts like ‘sinners’ disease as a punishment for homosexual practice from the Supernatural Being, no known risk messages for vulnerable people like persons living with mental illness and various forms of disability. Recommendations: 1. Continuity-Flighting Communalised (CFC) risk communication approach can be used. Research into this approach can be done to assess its effect on risk communication. This approach was borrowed from advertising media strategy called continuity and flighting. The CFC approach is where the risk managers engage two or more communities frequently and concurrently over a period of time then alternate community engagement periods during follow-ups till the need to end activity. 2. Capacity building of risk managers like health workers, security personnel, risk communicators, and others should be important. 3. Engagement of development communicators or health communicators if there is none as well as language expert in the planning of Risk Communication policy to achieve all inclusive effective risk communication (to move blind, deaf into recommended action). 4. Regular update of risk communication messages and strategies as and when new emerging evidence comes to obtain uniform content to build and maintain trust with the publics, and post incident review guidelines document should be a priority.