Abstract

Communication strategies for k-12 school COVID-19 monitoring systems

Araz Majnoonian, BS¹, Anh Vo, BA², Dawn Duong², Marlene Flores, MA³, Richard Garfein, PhD MPH⁴, Ashkan Hassani², Tina Le, BS⁵, Megan Nguyen, BS⁶, Vinton Omaleki, MPH⁷, F. Carrissa Wijaya⁵, Rebecca Fielding-Miller, MSPH, PhD¹ and Elizabeth Frost, MPH/MSW⁷
(1)University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, (2)University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, (3)University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, (4)San Diego, CA, (5)UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, La Jolla, CA, (6)UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Sciences, La Jolla, CA, (7)UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, San Diego, CA

APHA 2021 Annual Meeting and Expo

Effective communication is important to ensure that school communities can take timely risk mitigation measures when a potential SARS-COV-2 case is detected in schools. As part of the the Safer at School Early Alert (SASEA) SARS-COV-2 environmental monitoring pilot, we conducted a series of qualitative, exploratory focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant in-depth interviews (KI IDIs) to understand parent, teacher, and administrator preferences and needs for COVID-19 related communication in school settings.

We conducted and analyzed 15 FGDs with 39 informants: 5 with English-speaking parents, 2 with Spanish-speaking parents, and 8 in English with school staff from SASEA-affiliated sites. KI IDIs were conducted with 6 staff from SASEA-affiliated sites. We analyzed the data using an iterative, thematic process based on our project implementation logic model (itself grounded in social cognitive theory and the theory of planned behavior.)

Respondents recognized the school principal as a reliable authority for communicating possible COVID-19 risks in schools. Consistent messaging is important, even if delivered with different methods. In case of COVID-19 exposure, parents and staff desire action-based communications that include concrete next steps to mitigate risk. Respondents did not express strong preferences about communication medium; however, they emphasized the importance of utilizing all forms of communication in multiple languages to engage various audiences.

School districts should utilize actionable, consistent, and multilingual methods of communication when implementing their COVID-19 communication strategies. School-specific case data should be included to provide a realistic risk assessment and include actionable information on how to reduce risk.

Communication and informatics Public health or related research