Predicting Public Cooperation with Face Covering at the Early Phases of Covid-19

Building Public Trust, Confidence, Knowledge Through Governmental Two-Way Symmetrical Communication

Bibliographic Data

ID21616319
AuthorsJo-Yun Li (0000-0003-0245-7306, University of Miami, corresponding author), Yeunjae Lee (0000-0002-2482-435X, Colorado State University)
Year2024
Volume39
Issue12
Pages2983-2996
Publication date2024-10-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1041-0236 • E-ISSN: 1532-7027
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10410236.2023.2297496
PMID38166473
OpenAlexW4390541978
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited61

Despite the agreement on the importance of two-way communication during governmental response to pandemics, few studies provided empirical evidence to support the effectiveness of such communication strategy in times of a public health crisis. Integrating the concept of two-way symmetrical communication and the Trust, Confidence, and Cooperation model (the TCC model), this study investigates how strategic communication practices, in particular two-way symmetrical communication, is related to public's perceived trust and confidence in governments (i.e., CDC in this study), and how these perceptions may affect decisions to comply with the preventive behaviors (i.e., face covering in this study), while taking the moderating role of knowledge into consideration. An online survey was conducted with 502 participants who were living in the United States in early April 2020. The findings showed that two-way symmetrical communication may increase public trust and confidence in governments, and improve individuals' knowledge about the pandemic, which all subsequently leads to compliance with recommended behaviors. The results contribute to the theoretical understanding of pandemic communication and provide implications for practitioners in pandemic management, suggesting that health institutions should adopt two-way symmetrical communication practices in respond to public health emergencies

Business · Crisis communication · Empirical evidence · Health communication · Knowledge management · Pandemic · Perception · Political science · Public health · Public relations · Public trust · Risk communication · Sociology · Communication · Computer Science · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Medicine · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Nursing · Psychology · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Social Psychology