Mindfulness and risk communication during the Covid-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Background:

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in spring 2020 offered an opportunity to examine the impact of mindfulness theory as governments responded. Mindful organizations do not rely on routine ways and are open to new ideas and perspectives in problem solving. Mindfulness involves analyzing new situations and openness to information. This study examines how well mindful planning, conducted in 2006 by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), matched public responses to the 2020 pandemic.

Method:

Public meetings were held in 2006 to determine acceptability of a series of control measures such as altering work schedules and cancelling large gatherings in the case of a novel pandemic. In 2020, an online survey was conducted of 803 participants during initial implementation of the measures and compared to responses from 2006 to ascertain the effectiveness of mindful planning.

Results:

Chi-square analysis showed no significant differences on acceptance of five community control measures across geographic regions.

Conclusions:

Failure of officials to consider the insights of mindful planning efforts resulted in mindless reactions. These results highlight how vital it is for organizations dealing with high-risk public health issues to follow a mindful approach throughout to reduce negative public health impact. This study also fills a gap in the research on mindfulness by analyzing the outcome of mindful planning in real-life. Limitations of the study include non-random online sampling, timeliness of the data gathered at an early stage of pandemic spread and lack of comparable gendered demographic variables.

KEYWORDS:

• Coronavirus
• mindfulness
• mindlessness
• centers for disease control
• community control measures
• pandemic

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data available upon request

Both authors made equal contributions, Wills with theory and design, Shields with analysis and findings.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Caitlin Wills

Caitlin Wills (Ph.D., University of Georgia) is an Associate Professor the Department of Communication, Media, and Journalism at the University of North Georgia. Dr. Wills’ areas of expertise include public relations, diversity, and citizen engagement. Research interests include public engagement in governmental decision making (environmental and health policy) and diversity in PR. Dr. Wills was a report writer and facilitator for the Public Engagement Pilot Project on Community Control Measures for Pandemic Influenza.

Steven Shields

Steven Shields (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin- Madison) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Journalism at the University of North Georgia. Dr. Shields’ areas of expertise include radio announcing and production, research methodology, and public opinion. Research interests include the creativity of media performers, radio as culture, history of radio, quantitative research methodology, and public opinion.