Alt: A postcard on a table reads, “Slow the Spread of Coronavirus: Guidelines for Americans.”
With all the timely communication about coronavirus happening these days, we’ve been thinking a lot about how to improve COVID-19 materials.
In fact, dear readers, we went ahead and futzed with a certain postcard material you may have seen in your mailbox:
Alt: A postcard about what to do to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
There’s some useful information here about how people can help slow the spread of coronavirus. But we couldn’t help thinking this postcard would be even more useful if it followed some health literacy best practices, like:
Alt: A porcupine doodle explains to porcupette doodles how to stay healthy during the coronavirus outbreak. A list of instructions on the fridge says, “Wash paws.”
Now imagine being a kid. Maybe your school closed with no warning. Maybe your parents are struggling to work from home — or worse, out of work. Maybe you heard that playdates with your friends are now… dangerous? And why is everyone freaking out about toilet paper?
Unsurprisingly, lots of kids are scared and confused. As health communicators, we can help kids understand what’s happening — and maybe calm their fears a little, too. Use these tips to communicate with kids about coronavirus:
Keep it simple. We’re big fans of plain language for any audience, but it’s especially important when talking to kids. The news might say: “Public health officials urge citizens to refrain from all discretionary travel.” But you can go with: “It’s important to stay at home unless you really need to go somewhere — like to the doctor.”
Be honest about what we know — and what we don’t. Stretching the truth to ease fear and anxiety might work in the short term, but that approach can backfire. If you tell kids (or even adults!) that everything will be back to normal very soon, they’ll feel betrayed and even more confused when the emergency lasts much longer.
Emphasize the positive. Researchers have found that kids who get COVID-19 usually have only mild symptoms. You can explain this — and remind them that doctors and scientists are working hard to keep people safe and healthy.
Fight racial stigma. Kids may have heard people (or, you know, a president) talking about the “Chinese virus.” This label spreads the dangerous lie that people of Chinese descent are responsible for the outbreak or more likely to have the disease. To help bust harmful myths like this one, make sure kids know that the way you look and the language you speak have nothing to do with spreading diseases.
Tell kids what they can do to help. No one likes to feel helpless. Give kids simple steps they can take to help keep themselves and others healthy, like washing their hands, trying not to touch their faces, and staying at home. Throw in a few songs to sing during a handwashing session, too.
Let kids feel however they feel. It’s important to normalize kids’ feelings — whatever those feelings may be. Scared your family will get sick? Totally normal. Sad you can’t play with your friends? Makes sense. Downright angry to be cooped up at home with your siblings? Understandable!
The bottom line:Be honest and empathetic when talking with kids about coronavirus.
Alt: Panel 1: A doodle sits on a couch next to a cat with an arched back and says, “Well Stewart, ready to help flatten the curve?” Panel 2: The cat is curled up next to the doodle. The doodle says, “So flat! You’ve got it.”
As health communicators, we know that writing for behavior change is a challenge — especially when recommendations are evolving quickly and time is of the essence.
With so many people worried about their health, their loved ones, and the massive economic impact of shutdowns and quarantines, COVID-19 is no laughing matter. So memes definitely aren’t the right fit for public health communication about coronavirus. Right?
Well, it might not be that simple, dear readers! Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen some memes circulating that educate, engage, and add some much-needed levity to a stressful situation. In that spirit, this week we’re sharing a few timely memes we just ❤.
Wash Your Lyrics
Early on in the outbreak, good old handwashing was the name of the game. Easy shortcuts, like telling people to sing Happy Birthday twice, can help people wash their hands for the recommended 20 seconds without watching the clock. But having Happy Birthday stuck in your head for an entire 2-week quarantine isn’t good for anyone’s mental health.
Fortunately, there are plenty of other 20-second ditties to choose from! That’s the idea behind Wash Your Lyrics, a tool created by a UK college student that creates custom handwashing posters for any song your heart desires — from Dolly Parton to Daft Punk.
Cattening the Curve
As the outbreak progressed, public health messaging expanded to more complicated ideas like “flattening the curve.” And that inspired some more creative memes!
We all know cats and the internet go together like peanut butter and jelly. Epidemiologist Dr. Anne Marie Darling knows this, too — so she turned a basic “flatten the curve” public health graph (yawn) into an adorable kitty PSA about the importance of social distancing.
#QuarantineCats
Now that most of the country is well into quarantine territory, memes are emerging that play on the new normal of daily life under stay-at-home orders.
The #QuarantineCats Twitter hashtag may not have an obvious public health purpose, but this meme isn’t just raising people’s spirits: it’s also a clever use of social norming (and cute cat pictures) to encourage people to stay home and avoid spreading the virus.
The bottom line: COVID-19 is no joke — but we ❤ how memes can promote behavior change and help to spread time-sensitive public health messages.
Alt: Two doodles practice social distancing by standing 6 feet apart.
Here at We ❤ Health Literacy Headquarters, of course we’re paying close attention to health officials’ efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus. And we can’t help but notice they’re using lots of words that seem to mean the same thing — like isolation, quarantine, and social distancing.
As you’ve surely noticed, people are panicking — and confusing terms won’t help. The possibility that you’ll need to quarantine yourself is especially worrisome if you don’t really understand what that means!
As health communicators, our job isn’t just to report that isolation, quarantine, and social distancing are happening — it’s also to help people understand those terms. If you need a refresher yourself, check out our plain language definitions:
Isolation is for people who already have the virus. It means keeping them separated from people who don’t have it. Hospitals are isolating people with COVID-19 from other patients, for example.
Quarantine is for people who may have been exposed to the virus. It also means keeping them separated from other people — like a “wait and see” approach in case they turn out to be infected. This usually means staying at home and avoiding contact with other people for 14 days.
And what’s with the 6-feet rule, you ask? That’s how far experts think respiratory droplets containing coronavirus can travel through the air when someone sneezes or coughs.
Alt: A newscaster doodle says, “Bringing you by-the-minute updates on the outbreak. Erm… epidemic. Pandemic?”
You probably know a thing or 2 about the coronavirus pandemic by now. Or is it an epidemic? Outbreak? Wait… what’s the difference?
Health professionals and journalists have been throwing these terms around a lot lately. But since most people don’t know exactly what a pandemic or epidemic is — or how they’re different — the words aren’t all that helpful. You might even call them a little scary (okay, more like panic inducing).
As health communicators, we can resist the urge to hop on this viral jargon bandwagon. (“All the cool health experts are saying it!”) Instead, we can explain these terms in plain language — and help people feel a little less panicky while we’re at it.
Not sure you fully understand the difference between an outbreak, an epidemic, and a pandemic? Don’t worry, dear readers — we’re here for you.
First, let’s clear up the misconception that these terms refer to a disease’s severity. Not so! They’re actually about how widespread a disease is. With that in mind, here’s what you and your readers need to know:
An outbreak is a sudden, unexpected increase in the number of people with a disease — usually in a relatively small geographic area, like a city. Think a cluster of TB cases in Chicago.
An epidemic is an outbreak that spreads to a large geographic area, like a whole country or region. Think Ebola in West Africa in 2016.
A pandemic happens when an outbreak goes global, covering several countries or continents. Think the flu in 1918 — or, you know, COVID-19 right about now.
To be clear, there’s some flexibility in these definitions. You may have noticed, for example, that health professionals continued to call the coronavirus outbreak an epidemic even after it spread to several countries beyond China. That’s partly because, at the time, most of the cases outside China were still related to people who traveled to China.
The bottom line: “Outbreak,” “epidemic,” and “pandemic” are commonly misunderstood, fear-inducing words. If you need to use one, explain it clearly — and try not to dwell on it.
If you’ve been following news of the novel coronavirus, you may have noticed a dangerous contagion spreading faster than the virus itself: health misinformation.
So follow these tips to inoculate your audiences against coronavirus claptrap:
Fight racial stigma with neutral naming. Early talk about the “Wuhan coronavirus” fed the false impression that people of Chinese descent are more likely to carry the disease. So stick to coronavirus or COVID-19, and skip terms that tie the virus to a particular place or people.
Promote helpful prevention steps. If you’ve written about hygiene tips for flu season, tips for preventing coronavirus should sound familiar: wash your hands (a lot), sneeze into your elbow, and practice social distancing. (The government of Vietnam even inspired a coronavirus prevention dance craze.)
Discourage harmful hoarding. Stocking up on shelf-stable foods and prescription medicines is a smart idea — whether for coronavirus or general emergency preparedness. But when regular people buy up all the medical-grade face masks and gloves, it leaves health care providers undersupplied and unprotected.
Emphasize the importance of community. Staying home when you’re sick is absolutely the right idea — but unequal access to paid sick leave makes it easier said than done. And low-income households can’t necessarily stock up on food and medicine in advance. So encourage local governments, employers, community organizations, and neighbors to reach out and support people who are sick — because keeping our communities safe is always a team effort.
The bottom line: Fight the spread of coronavirus with clear public health communication.
Alt: Three pregnant doodles representing different gender identities stand under the words “Pregnant People.” A kid doodle points at their parent’s belly and says, “Brudder!”
But even seemingly neutral terms can exclude some of the people you’re trying to reach. Take “pregnant women” for example. Seems fine, hey? But women aren’t the only people who get pregnant. Transgender men, gender nonbinary people, and others do, too.
This may seem like no big deal, because the majority of pregnant people identify as women. But simple style choices like the singular “they” and the gender-neutral term “pregnant people” can make your materials more welcoming for soon-to-be parents from across the gender spectrum.
So consider swapping terms like “moms-to-be” for more inclusive terms like “people who are pregnant” — or try using “you” for a more conversational tone.
Instead of this:
Pregnant women should talk to the doctor about how to stay active.
Expectant mothers need to see their doctor for regular checkups.
Folic acid is recommended for all moms-to-be.
Try this:
If you’re pregnant, talk with your doctor about how to stay active.
Pregnant people need to see their doctor for regular checkups.
If you’re pregnant or planning to get pregnant, take folic acid every day.
The bottom line: When writing about pregnancy, try making your materials inclusive for parents-to-be of all genders.
Alt: An older adult doodle sees a pamphlet that says, “Calling all olds…” and responds, “Harumph!” The same doodle sees a pamphlet that says, “If you’re 65 or older…” and responds, “That’s me!”
Just like talking down to older adults, slapping fusty old labels on your health materials can really alienate your audience. If a healthy, active 65-year-old sees a brochure about services for “the elderly,” chances are they’ll think it’s not for them.
So remove the confusion and address your materials to a specific age range, using the more personal “you” when it makes sense. And if you need a broader label, stick to “older adults.”
Instead of:
Elderly people are at higher risk for falls.
All seniors need the pneumococcal vaccine.
Geriatric populations may benefit from tai chi to maintain balance.
Try:
If you’re age 65 or older, you’re at higher risk for falls.
All adults age 65 and older need the pneumococcal vaccine.
Tai chi can help you maintain your balance as you get older.
The bottom line: When writing for older adults, skip the oldfangled labels and just specify the age range.
Alt: A doodle sits in front of their laptop holding “Because Internet” by Gretchen McCulloch. The laptop screen shows the same doodle holding the same book in front of the same laptop, and so on and so forth.
Think pieces about how the internet is destroying our language abound — but internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch says that what’s happening to English “because internet” is anything but destructive. In Because Internet, McCulloch offers an engaging, research-backed explanation of how today’s digital climate is transforming the English language.
But jumping on every linguistic fad isn’t an automatic win for health communicators — check out this Twitter thread where McCulloch and her followers try to decipher a puzzling emoji-based public health message. As always, dear readers, it pays to test your materials with your audience!
The bottom line: Internet language is here to stay — and Because Internet is here to tell you all about it!
As we look ahead to the next decade of We ❤︎ Health Literacy, we thought we’d give you a behind-the-scenes look at how an idea becomes a post.
As you may have noticed, our more topical topics run the gamut from celebrity nonsense to serious breaking news. And that’s because we draw inspiration from situations our team encounters in everyday life, out and about on the internet, and in the wilds of health communication.
Usually, it happens like this: one of our writers is minding their business, doing their thing, when all of a sudden their brain says, “Hey, this would make a great We ❤︎ Health Literacy post!”
Alt: A doodle brain says, “I have ALL the ideas!”
Perhaps they’re inspired by a casual board game with friends.
Or they’re relaxing in front of a flashy Hollywood film when, like a sign from the movie gods, Kate Winslet spouts a public health lesson too good to pass up.
Alt: Three doodles watch the movie “Contagion” and eat popcorn. “Stop touching your face!” says one doodle to another.
Alt: A doodle clutches a piece of paper and says, “The Oxford comma has a place in this world and it’s in. This. Sentence.”
Armed with this health lit inspiration, our intrepid writer pitches the idea, gets lots (!) of input from the rest of the team, and drafts the post.
Then the We ❤︎ Health Literacy team edits, edits some more, and then copyedits just one more time.
And when the text is done, the real fun begins. Our doodler-in-chief brings the words to life with a droll illustration…
Alt: The doodler-in-chief says, “…So the doodle says ‘that’s not MY monkey…’” to other We ❤ Health Literacy team members. An upside-down doodle says, “I don’t get it.”
…and when it’s all assembled, it’s publishing time!
But posting the finished product is never the end of the story. That’s where you come in! From the moment we hit send, we’re eagerly anticipating responses from our loyal readers.
Sometimes you write in to share your wholehearted agreement.
And sometimes you’ve got a bone to pick with us.
Alt: A doodle labeled “you” types on a computer and says, “Dear ‘WHHL’ crew, I’ve been saying this for YEARS…”
Whatever your take, your feedback gives us new ideas and helps us craft future posts. (And, you know, confirms that we’re not just shouting into the void.)
The bottom line: Thanks for being a part of We ❤︎ Health Literacy, dear readers — we couldn’t do it without you.
