Analyzing Communication Strategies of the Saudi Ministry of Health During COVID-19
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/ajahs.v2i4.2177Keywords:
Corona Pandemic, COVID-19, Communication Strategies, TwitterAbstract
Effective communication is imperative during crises such as the COVID-19 Pandemic. The study investigates the communication strategies employed by the Saudi Ministry of Health through its official Twitter account during the pandemic. A content analysis of 1129 Tweets from the Saudi Ministry of Health’s official Twitter account was conducted from January 21, 2020, to July 21, 2020. Twitonomy software was used to collect the tweets. A coding sheet was developed and validated for measuring communication strategies, content types, language, target audience and user interaction. The results demonstrate that the Saudi Ministry of Health utilized an “information strategy” (74%) to communicate with the public. Most tweets included infographics (75.9%), followed by videos (16,95%). Text-only tweets (2%) and links to external websites (0.35%) were less absent. Arabic was the predominant language (86%), followed by English (12%), and a mix of ten other languages (2%). This study emphasizes the value of understanding audience dynamics for upcoming crisis communication strategies as well as the significance of effective communication in public health crises. The results can help public health authorities approach similar circumstances more effectively and effectively.
Downloads
References
Al-Hila, A. A., Alhelou, E., Al Shobaki, M. J., & Abu Naser, S. S. (2017). The impact of applying the dimensions of IT governance in improving e-training-case study of the ministry of telecommunications and information technology in gaza governorates. International Journal of Engineering and Information Systems (IJEAIS), 1(7), 194-219.
Al-Zadjali, M. (2012). Communication strategies for public relations through websites in the governmental units in Sultanate of Oman. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, OM.
Al Amri, A. M., Almushayt, N. O. S., Alqahtani, T. S., Faqih, H. H., Al Shehri, N. K. S., Alqarni, B. A. A., Alzubaidi, W. A. A., Alhazmi, A. A. A., Alghamdi, M. A. A., & Al-Amer, E. S. (2023). Knowledge and Attitude Toward Strabismus in Saudi Arabia. Bahrain Medical Bulletin, 45(3).
Alamro, N., Almana, L., Alabduljabbar, A., Alshunaifi, A., AlKahtani, M., AlDihan, R., Alobaid, N., Almansour, A., & AlOthaim, N. (2020). COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO) Saudi Arabia–Wave 1.
Aldekhyyel, R. N., Binkheder, S., Aldekhyyel, S. N., Alhumaid, N., Hassounah, M., AlMogbel, A., & Jamal, A. A. (2022). The Saudi Ministries Twitter communication strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative content analysis study. Public Health in Practice, 3, 100257. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2022.100257
Alharbi, M. F. (2021). Social media influencers in public affairs: framing the Saudi vision 2030 in the Middle Eastern context RMIT University.
Ali, S. A., Baloch, M., Ahmed, N., Ali, A. A., & Iqbal, A. (2020). The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-An emerging global health threat. Journal of infection and public health, 13(4), 644-646.
Alotaibi, S., Mehmood, R., & Katib, I. (2019). Sentiment analysis of Arabic tweets in smart cities: A review of Saudi dialect. 2019 Fourth International Conference on Fog and Mobile Edge Computing (FMEC)
Alrefaee, A. A. (2023). Nurses’ Knowledge and Practices Regarding Healthcare-Associated Infections Control Measures in King Saalman Bin Abdul-Aziz Medical City at Madinah City, Saudi Arabia Alfaisal University (Saudi Arabia).
Alsubaie, A., Lyndon, N., Salman, A., & Hoe, K. C. (2021). The enlivenment of public opinion in the new era: Exploring the power of social media on political consciousness in Saudi Arabia. Humanities and Social Sciences Letters.
Ayish, M. I. (2005). Virtual public relations in the United Arab Emirates: A case study of 20 UAE organizations’ use of the Internet. Public relations review, 31(3), 381-388.
Bonsón, E., Perea, D., & Bednárová, M. (2019). Twitter as a tool for citizen engagement: An empirical study of the Andalusian municipalities. Government information quarterly, 36(3), 480-489.
Brackett, M. A., Bailey, C. S., Hoffmann, J. D., & Simmons, D. N. (2019). RULER: A theory-driven, systemic approach to social, emotional, and academic learning. Educational psychologist, 54(3), 144-161.
Burki, T. (2020). Outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 20(3), 292-293.
Chatfield, A. T., & Reddick, C. G. (2017). All hands on deck to tweet #sandy: Networked governance of citizen coproduction in turbulent times. Gov. Inf. Q., 35, 259-272.
Chatfield, A. T., Scholl, H. J., & Brajawidagda, U. (2013). Tsunami early warnings via Twitter in government: Net-savvy citizens’ co-production of time-critical public information services. Gov. Inf. Q., 30, 377-386.
Chen, Q., Min, C., Zhang, W., Wang, G., Ma, X., & Evans, R. (2020). Unpacking the black box: How to promote citizen engagement through government social media during the COVID-19 crisis. Computers in human behavior, 110, 106380.
Cho, J. Y., & Lee, E.-H. (2014). Reducing confusion about grounded theory and qualitative content analysis: Similarities and differences. Qualitative report, 19(32).
Figueiredo, S., & Massano-Cardoso, I. (2021). O impacto dos media no medo de contrair COVID-19.
Gharawi, M. A., & Alneami, H. H. (2020). Exploring the Influence of Organizational Context on Cross-boundary Information-Sharing Initiatives: The Case of the Saudi’s Government Secure Bus. 2020 3rd International Conference on Information and Computer Technologies (ICICT)
Gui, L. (2021). Media framing of fighting COVID‐19 in China. Sociology of Health & Illness, 43(4), 966-970.
Han, X., Wang, J., Zhang, M., & Wang, X. (2020). Using social media to mine and analyze public opinion related to COVID-19 in China. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(8), 2788.
Huang, Y., & DiStaso, M. (2020). Responding to a health crisis on Facebook: The effects of response timing and message appeal. Public Relations Review, 46(3), 101909.
Islam, K., Akhther, N., & Seeger, M. W. (2023). Variability in media content of public health outbreak coverage: A crisis communication approach. Communication Studies, 74(2), 113-130.
Jain, N., Malviya, P., Singh, P., & Mukherjee, S. (2021). Twitter mediated sociopolitical communication during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in india. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 784907.
Leona, N. L., van Koert, M. J., van der Molen, M. W., Rispens, J. E., Tijms, J., & Snellings, P. (2021). Explaining individual differences in young English language learners’ vocabulary knowledge: The role of Extramural English Exposure and motivation. System, 96, 102402.
Liu, C., & Liu, Y. (2020). Media exposure and anxiety during COVID-19: The mediation effect of media vicarious traumatization. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(13), 4720.
Mohammed, A., & Ferraris, A. (2021). Factors influencing user participation in social media: Evidence from twitter usage during COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Technology in Society, 66, 101651.
Neely, S. R., & Collins, M. (2018). Social Media and Crisis Communications: A Survey of Local Governments in Florida. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 15.
Ngai, C. S. B., Singh, R. G., Lu, W., & Koon, A. C. (2020). Grappling with the COVID-19 health crisis: content analysis of communication strategies and their effects on public engagement on social media. Journal of medical Internet research, 22(8), e21360.
Panagiotopoulos, P., Bigdeli, A. Z., & Sams, S. (2014). Citizen–government collaboration on social media: The case of Twitter in the 2011 riots in England. Government information quarterly, 31(3), 349-357.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2013.10.014
Rosenthal, M. S., & Rosenthal, M. S. (2020). A Classic for a Reason: The Doctor (1991). Healthcare Ethics on Film: A Guide for Medical Educators, 333-354.
Ruler, B. v. (2004). The communication grid: An introduction of a model of four communication strategies.
Said, s. (2017). The Role of Communication Strategies of Public Relations in enhancing the Culture of Organization in social media platforms: Practical on Egyptian and Emirian flight Companies. The Journal of Public Relations Middle East.
Santoso, N. R., Dewi, E., Arviani, H., & Achmad, Z. A. (2021). Public relations Professionals’ communication strategies in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic based on gender. Plaridel, 18(1), 295-316.
Sesagiri Raamkumar, A., Tan, S. G., & Wee, H. L. (2020). Measuring the outreach efforts of public health authorities and the public response on Facebook during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020: cross-country comparison. Journal of medical Internet research, 22(5), e19334.
Shirky, C. (2011). The political power of social media: Technology, the public sphere, and political change. Foreign Affairs, 90, 28-41.
Tang, L., Liu, W., Thomas, B., Tran, H. T. N., Zou, W., Zhang, X., & Zhi, D. (2021). Texas public agencies’ tweets and public engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic: Natural language processing approach. JMIR public health and surveillance, 7(4), e26720.
Tolchin, S. J. (1968). The police policy area as a subsystem of New York City politics. New York University.
Van Ruler, B. (2019). Agile communication evaluation and measurement. Journal of communication management, 23(3), 265-280.
Yesser. (2014). The Electronic Government Program. https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/archive/stocktaking/Project/Details?projectId=1488788874
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Jareh Fares Alotaibi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
