När "håll i, håll ut, håll avstånd" inte längre fungerar. En innehållsanalys av Region Skånes Facebookinlägg under covid-19-pandemin
(2021) SKDK11 20211Department of Strategic Communication
- Abstract
- As of now, we have lived with the Covid-19 pandemic and its accompanying restrictions, recommendations and messages for over a year. The constantly repeated messages about the same topic has resulted in people tiring of following restrictions and paying attention, which is what the WHO describes as pandemic fatigue. Meanwhile, fatigue such as this, which could lead
to people choosing to ignore or actively resist health communication, has previously been described by researchers as message fatigue.
The aim of the study was to analyze how Region Skåne’s Facebook posts during the Covid-19 pandemic could be understood based on message fatigue and the guidelines created by the WHO. As such, the purpose was to contribute to existing... (More) - As of now, we have lived with the Covid-19 pandemic and its accompanying restrictions, recommendations and messages for over a year. The constantly repeated messages about the same topic has resulted in people tiring of following restrictions and paying attention, which is what the WHO describes as pandemic fatigue. Meanwhile, fatigue such as this, which could lead
to people choosing to ignore or actively resist health communication, has previously been described by researchers as message fatigue.
The aim of the study was to analyze how Region Skåne’s Facebook posts during the Covid-19 pandemic could be understood based on message fatigue and the guidelines created by the WHO. As such, the purpose was to contribute to existing knowledge on how to craft messages, in order to determine how to strategically communicate important information during a pandemic.
In order to investigate this we conducted a content analysis of Region Skåne’s Facebook posts from February 26 to December 31 2020. Thus, we analyzed to what extent the guidelines by the WHO were reflected in posts, how the posts could be interpreted in relation to the guidelines and message fatigue and how the content changed over time. The study showed that what constitutes good communication depends on the context and the situation and that guidelines, such as the ones developed by the WHO, can be used as guidance and as a foundation for designing messages. However, following guidelines does not automatically mean message fatigue is avoided. Therefore, there is no one way in which organizations should communicate during situations such as pandemics. Thus, the study shows that communication professionals should conduct continuous analysis and adaptation of messages. The study, therefore, highlights the importance of strategic communication in the design of messages. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- I nuläget har vi levt med covid-19-pandemin och dess medföljande restriktioner, rekommendationer och budskap i över ett år. De konstant återupprepade budskapen kring ämnet har resulterat i att människor tröttnat på att följa restriktioner och uppmärksamma informationen, vilket WHO beskriver som pandemic fatigue. Samtidigt har denna trötthet, som kan leda till att människor väljer att ignorera eller aktivt motstå hälsokommunikation, tidigare beskrivits av forskare som message fatigue.
Syftet med denna studie var således att undersöka hur Region Skånes Facebookinlägg under covid-19-pandemin kunde förstås utifrån message fatigue och riktlinjerna skapade av WHO. Därmed var målet att bidra till existerande kunskap kring budskapsutformning... (More) - I nuläget har vi levt med covid-19-pandemin och dess medföljande restriktioner, rekommendationer och budskap i över ett år. De konstant återupprepade budskapen kring ämnet har resulterat i att människor tröttnat på att följa restriktioner och uppmärksamma informationen, vilket WHO beskriver som pandemic fatigue. Samtidigt har denna trötthet, som kan leda till att människor väljer att ignorera eller aktivt motstå hälsokommunikation, tidigare beskrivits av forskare som message fatigue.
Syftet med denna studie var således att undersöka hur Region Skånes Facebookinlägg under covid-19-pandemin kunde förstås utifrån message fatigue och riktlinjerna skapade av WHO. Därmed var målet att bidra till existerande kunskap kring budskapsutformning för att på så sätt kunna dra lärdomar kring hur man kan strategiskt kommunicera viktig information under en pandemi.
För att undersöka detta genomförde vi en innehållsanalys av Region Skånes Facebookinlägg från 26 februari till 31 december 2020. Vi undersökte i vilken utsträckning WHO:s riktlinjer reflekterades i inläggen, hur inläggen kunde tolkas i relation till riktlinjerna och message fatigue samt hur innehållet förändrades över tid. Studien visade att vad som utmärker bra kommunikation beror på kontext och situation och att riktlinjer som WHO:s kan användas som vägledning och grund till utformning av budskap. Dock undviks inte message fatigue endast för att riktlinjer följs. Det finns därmed inte ett bestämt sätt som organisationer bör kommunicera på under situationer som en pandemi, utan kommunikatörer bör bedriva fortlöpande analys och anpassning. Studien betonar därav på betydelsen av strategisk kommunikation vid utformningen av budskap. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9047769
- author
- Hansen, Malin LU and Frennfelt, Wilma LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SKDK11 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Message fatigue, pandemic fatigue, budskapströtthet, hälsokommunikation, pandemikommunikation, strategisk kommunikation, covid-19, WHO, World Health Organization, Region Skåne, Facebook
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9047769
- date added to LUP
- 2021-06-07 15:12:38
- date last changed
- 2021-06-07 15:12:38
@misc{9047769,
abstract = {{As of now, we have lived with the Covid-19 pandemic and its accompanying restrictions, recommendations and messages for over a year. The constantly repeated messages about the same topic has resulted in people tiring of following restrictions and paying attention, which is what the WHO describes as pandemic fatigue. Meanwhile, fatigue such as this, which could lead
to people choosing to ignore or actively resist health communication, has previously been described by researchers as message fatigue.
The aim of the study was to analyze how Region Skåne’s Facebook posts during the Covid-19 pandemic could be understood based on message fatigue and the guidelines created by the WHO. As such, the purpose was to contribute to existing knowledge on how to craft messages, in order to determine how to strategically communicate important information during a pandemic.
In order to investigate this we conducted a content analysis of Region Skåne’s Facebook posts from February 26 to December 31 2020. Thus, we analyzed to what extent the guidelines by the WHO were reflected in posts, how the posts could be interpreted in relation to the guidelines and message fatigue and how the content changed over time. The study showed that what constitutes good communication depends on the context and the situation and that guidelines, such as the ones developed by the WHO, can be used as guidance and as a foundation for designing messages. However, following guidelines does not automatically mean message fatigue is avoided. Therefore, there is no one way in which organizations should communicate during situations such as pandemics. Thus, the study shows that communication professionals should conduct continuous analysis and adaptation of messages. The study, therefore, highlights the importance of strategic communication in the design of messages.}},
author = {{Hansen, Malin and Frennfelt, Wilma}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{När "håll i, håll ut, håll avstånd" inte längre fungerar. En innehållsanalys av Region Skånes Facebookinlägg under covid-19-pandemin}},
year = {{2021}},
}