Ethical Public Health Communication During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Role of the Mass Media in Ghana

Abstract

The study focused on the ethical public health communication during the COVID 19 pandemic and the role the media played in Ghana. The study employed the use of interview where information was collected from staff of the Ghana Health service in three hospitals located in the Greater Accra Region. These are the 37 military Hospital, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and the Achimota hospital. In all, six (6) staff members; two each, were contacted from the 37 military Hospital, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and the Achimota hospital. The interviews were recorded using an iPhone and were later retrieved and transcripted. The data were analysed qualitatively through the use of thematic analysis with emerging themes at the end. The study found out that some of the ethical challenges the staff face during public health communication campaigns include communicating in such a way that the message is not affected by the knowledge gap eminent in heterogeneous societies. The second finding, related to the ways in which ethical challenges occur in public health communication in Ghana, saw responses themes such as the social environment within which the communication is being carried out; and economic challenges which affect regular campaigning and use of appropriate communication channels and materials. On the third objective, the study realised that the most effective medium of communicating during the pandemic was the used of television broadcast including education, advertisement and other social intervention strategies. The study recommends that future studies must also look at the application of ethnographic design to this study, where they will be able to apply interviews, conversations and observations to see how the ethical issues manifest during the public health communications.