The institutional communication on covid-19 was one of the ultimate 'victims' of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, exposing the Government and the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) to criticism and the accusation of responsibility for the worsening of the pandemic in Portugal.
In the last few weeks, with the increase in cases and deaths and an intensification of pressure on the National Health Service (SNS), communication about covid-19 has come under fire, among accusations of disorientation, restrictions and exceptions, recriminations or simple ineffectiveness. The Prime Minister, António Costa, assumed responsibility on Thursday: “It is all my fault. The messenger got the message wrong ”.
The acknowledgment of failures by the government leader can mark the beginning of a new 'therapeutic' in terms of communication about covid-19 and also symbolizes the perception of some mistakes that were made, especially in the last month. According to communication specialists consulted by Lusa, the expectation involves the realization of a fundamental idea: to re-engage the Portuguese in the fulfillment of prevention measures.
“Having made a 'mea culpa', the Prime Minister opened a window of opportunity and understanding, because people deal more easily with the truth than with the lack of trust,” said manager Margarida Pinto da Fonseca, manager communication consultant S Consulting, specialized in the health area, for whom it is necessary to “seek cohesion through dialogue”.
António Costa's last message was also important to attenuate the idea of “negative communication” that, according to Rui Gaspar, a professor at the Catholic University and a psychologist specializing in crisis communication, was creating himself with “blaming people”, that “leads them to not adhere to the recommendations” of the authorities.
“People have every right to feel tired, and we must recognize tiredness and the right to tiredness. More than blaming people for relaxation, it is important to listen to people about the barriers they face in their daily lives to implement the behaviors that are asked for, ”he explained, adding:“ When we involve people in their own communication, the guarantee of success and the adherence will be higher ”.
A vision shared by Andreia Garcia, director of the health communication consultant Miligrama, who stressed that “communication requires recipients to be involved in the communicative act” and that there is currently a “confusion” between information and communication.
“In contexts of public emergency, such as the one we are experiencing, linear communication models, based solely on the transmission of information, cannot be expected to promote behavioral change. The problem does not lie in the lack of information, but in the inability to involve and listen to the population ”, summarizes the consultant and teacher at the Escola Superior de Comunicação Social.
Among the main criticisms of the communication model adopted is the junction of the technical aspect, by the DGS - usually with Graça Freitas -, and the policy, through the government, namely by the Minister of Health, Marta Temido. A situation that “is not desirable”, according to Rui Gaspar, who defended that “technical communication and political communication must be separated” due to the risk of “perception that they are not two entities” to communicate.
“When the technical aspect is not distinguishable from the political aspect, this will always be a problem”, noted the academic, who has also been advising DGS throughout the pandemic, reiterating that “communication must be done by technicians”, but that this "It is not just communicating epidemiological information and numbers, it is also having an empathic side and showing people that what they are doing is doing it well".
"More than just listing statistics, it is necessary to identify the priority audiences, the messages most appropriate to these audiences and the channels that are important to achieve the proposed objectives", reinforced Andreia Garcia, who also maintained that these channels "may not be the conferences of press ”that went from daily to three-weekly.
And if the numbers say a lot about the spread of covid-19 in Portugal, after eight months of the pandemic, they can also spell out another less quantifiable, but equally dangerous risk: desensitization and people's detachment from statistics.
“This has been happening for many months, there is a numbness effect. And when we start communicating a lot in numbers, we stop seeing them as people. 30, 40 or 50 dead are no longer people with families, who had their lives and were affected by this situation ”, said Rui Gaspar, who pointed out the reference to“ concrete examples ”and the attribution of“ emotional meaning ”as an alternative numbers.
For Margarida Pinto da Fonseca, another factor that compromised the effectiveness of communication was the change in the political context. If in the first wave the climate of consensus around the measures adopted was emphasized, the second wave occurred with clear fractures between the various political and social agents, with consequences for the receptivity of the message.
"The union that characterized the attitude of the various authorities has ended, and the sectors are increasingly distant to fight each one for themselves and for their interests", he stressed, underlining: "It was important to have a kind of consensus between the various parties, including a consultation with the media, to understand how together we will continue to disseminate a message that is becoming hollow ”.
The specialists heard by Lusa also point out the urgency of adapting the message to different audiences, tracing a difference to what happened in the first wave, in which ignorance and risk perception were global; now, more is known about the new coronavirus and different groups of the population look at SARS-CoV-2 differently.
“Communication cannot be a widespread act that works in all contexts, for all audiences, simultaneously”, declared Andreia Garcia, seconded by Margarida Pinto da Fonseca: “The complexity of the virus and the irregular way it behaves entail an special need to segment messages ”.
Defender of a more “proactive” communication and focused on future scenarios, Rui Gaspar also considered that “the media should not be the main mediator at this moment, but the local structures”, with “micro-influencers” and a strategic communication plan to at a more regional level or even for the highest-risk counties.
Another way to reach people can be in primary health care, since, for Andreia Garcia, it is the family doctor who is “the main source of information for a patient”, especially in risk groups. In this sense, he called for the “integration of communication professionals in the decision-making bodies” of health center groups.
“Strategic channels and partnerships must be found, even at a technological level, to reach different audiences. It is important to understand where people are now looking for information and who they trust. This is a fundamental step, but it involves the humility of those who are working on the message ”, sentenced Margarida Pinto da Fonseca.
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