TY - JOUR
T1 - The emergence of COVID-19 in the US
T2 - A public health and political communication crisis
AU - Gollust, Sarah E.
AU - Nagler, Rebekah H.
AU - Fowler, Erika Franklin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by Duke University Press.
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Communication
KW - Media
KW - Politics
KW - Public opinion
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096509018&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85096509018&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1215/03616878-8641506
DO - 10.1215/03616878-8641506
M3 - Article
C2 - 32464658
AN - SCOPUS:85096509018
SN - 0361-6878
VL - 45
SP - 967
EP - 981
JO - Journal of health politics, policy and law
JF - Journal of health politics, policy and law
IS - 6
ER -