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. 2024;2(1):2311402.
doi: 10.1080/28355245.2024.2311402.

A collaboration to harmonize COVID-19 health messaging and fill communication gaps during initial U.S. refugee resettlement

Megan Keaveney  1 , Cassie Le  2 , Kate Steger  3 , Neha J Sood  1 , Leticia Bligh  1 , Curi Kim  4 , SUSAn Dicker  5 , Alexander Klosovsky  5 , Holly Herrera  2 , Emily Jentes  1
Affiliations

A collaboration to harmonize COVID-19 health messaging and fill communication gaps during initial U.S. refugee resettlement

Megan Keaveney et al. Health Lit Commun Open. 2024.

Abstract

To communicate with U.S.-bound refugees during travel to the United States during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, five federal and international organizations collaborated in a strategic work group to synergize COVID-19 prevention health messaging and COVID-19 considerations before, during, and after travel, as well as promote shared resources. This work group sought to establish consistent COVID-19 messaging, disseminate messages to partners, and identify message gaps as the pandemic evolved. In early Fall 2020, CDC released new communication materials, including a fact sheet, a welcome booklet, and infographics translated into 19 languages, to address refugee health partners' need for culturally and linguistically concordant educational materials for refugees. Rapidly changing health communications needs during the pandemic fostered opportunities for collaboration among federal and refugee health partners and highlighted a long-standing need among agencies to address health messaging across the continuum of care for refugees.

Keywords: COVID-19; Refugee health; health communications; immigrant health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure statement No potential confiict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
COVID-19 refugee health resource infographic developed by Bureau of populations, refugees, and Migration (Archived June 2022).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Refugee-facing materials developed by Bureau of populations, refugees, and Migration (Archived June 2022).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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