Professor
Bowling Green State University
United States of America
Terry Rentner, Ph.D. is a Professor in the School of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in public relations, journalism, pedagogy, and health communication. Her research in college student health has led to more than 20 state and federal grants totaling approximately $1.6 million. She has published more than 15 refereed journal articles and book chapters and has presented close to 50 conference papers.
The Coronavirus Crisis in Saudi Arabia: A Critical Review of Campaign Efforts to Reduce the Spread of the Virus
Co-Author and Presenter: Saud Alsulaiman
In Saudi Arabia, the emergence of a serious and sometimes fatal infection called Coronavirus, known as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), has triggered the Ministry of Health (MOH) to launch recent and ongoing health campaigns to fight Coronavirus, since the country has the highest number of Coronavirus cases in the world.
This paper is a critical examination of how the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia has managed the Coronavirus crisis since the first diagnosis. It explores the MOH’s crisis communication practices to contain this health crisis. Principles of crisis communication, an understanding of health campaigns and Grunig’s two-way communication model serve as foundations for comparing and contrasting the MOH’s initial efforts to its current “We Can Stop It” campaign. Lessons learned and recommendations for effective crisis health campaigns are provided.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Critically analyze communication efforts during an international health crisis.
- Understand the role of two- way communication to increase the public’s engagement during a health crisis.
- Apply best practices of internal and external communication during an international health crisis.