"Good Communication Will Help Beat COVID-19"
In an opinion piece published in The Hill, Dr. Jonathan Fielding addresses the need for pandemic-related public communications to be based on science.
Weeks into the COVID-19 crisis, the U.S. population needs accurate information on the virus, but we are still struggling to get it right. The way that officials, leaders, and experts talk with the public during this crisis matters because it could mean the difference between life and death.
I find there’s a disconnect between communications based on good intentions and those based on good science. What’s proven elusive at several levels of government is a mechanism to marshal facts, vet differing viewpoints, decide who should answer difficult questions, and — most importantly — ensure that all recommendations and directives are based on sound science.
That hasn’t been easy for officials from the president of the United States to local mayors, who are trying to lead despite the inherent difficulties of a rapidly changing situation fraught with unknowns.
Faculty Referenced by this Article
EMPH Academic Program Director with expertise in healthcare marketing, finance, and reproductive health policy, teaching in the EMPH, MPH, MHA program
Professor of Community Health Sciences & Health Policy and Management, and Associate Dean for Research
Nationally recognized health services researcher and sociomedical scientist with 25+ years' experience in effectiveness and implementation research.
Dr. Michelle S. Keller is a health services researcher whose research focuses on the use and prescribing of high-risk medications.
Dr. Ron Andersen is the Wasserman Professor Emeritus in the UCLA Departments of Health Policy and Management.
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