Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jul 9:17:E60.
doi: 10.5888/pcd17.200245.

Culture Matters in Communicating the Global Response to COVID-19

C O Airhihenbuwa  1 , J Iwelunmor  2 , D Munodawafa  3 , C L Ford  4 , T Oni  5 , C Agyemang  6 , C Mota  7 , O B Ikuomola  8 , L Simbayi  9 , M P Fallah  10 , Z Qian  2 , B Makinwa  11 , C Niang  12 , I Okosun  8
Affiliations

Culture Matters in Communicating the Global Response to COVID-19

C O Airhihenbuwa et al. Prev Chronic Dis. .

Abstract

Current communication messages in the COVID-19 pandemic tend to focus more on individual risks than community risks resulting from existing inequities. Culture is central to an effective community-engaged public health communication to reduce collective risks. In this commentary, we discuss the importance of culture in unpacking messages that may be the same globally (physical/social distancing) yet different across cultures and communities (individualist versus collectivist). Structural inequity continues to fuel the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on black and brown communities nationally and globally. PEN-3 offers a cultural framework for a community-engaged global communication response to COVID-19.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure
Figure
The PEN-3 Model. The model has 3 primary components: cultural identity, cultural empowerment, and relationships and expectations, and each of the 3 components has 3 domains.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) technical guidance: risk communication and community engagement. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technica.... Accessed May 28, 2020.
    1. World Health Organization. Risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) readiness and response to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19)‎‎. https://www.who.int/publications-detail/risk-communication-and-community.... Accessed May 28, 2020.
    1. Airhihenbuwa CO. Healing our differences: the crisis of global health and the politics of identity. New York (NY): Rowman & Littlefield; 2007, p. 215.
    1. Palmer RC, Ismond D, Rodriquez EJ, Kaufman JS. Social determinants of health: future directions for health disparities research. Am J Public Health 2019;109(S1):S70–1. 10.2105/AJPH.2019.304964 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Williams DR, Lawrence JA, Davis BA. Racism and health: evidence and needed research. Annu Rev Public Health 2019;40(1):105–25. 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750 - DOI - PMC - PubMed