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How Covid-19 Fear Appeal is harming the global community study

"How Fear Appeal Approaches in COVID-19 Health Communication May Be Harming the Global Community"

This journal is actually the first one I read that labels Fear Appeals as 'Scare Tactics' so perhaps there may be some biased perceptions in this study. Nevertheless, the data they provide is important and I will be noting some of it's points in my essay.  

Notes:

Abstract: "Fear appeals, also known as scare tactics, have been widely used to promote recommended preventive behaviors. We contend that unintended negative outcomes can result from fear appeals that intensify the already complex pandemic and efforts to contain it. We encourage public health professionals to reevaluate their desire to use fear appeals in COVID-19 health communication and recommend that evidence-based health communication be utilized to address the needs of a specific community, help people understand what they are being asked to do, explain step-by-step how to complete preventative behaviors, and consider external factors needed to support the uptake of behaviors."

In this article, we discuss the use of fear appeals during the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential negative sociobehavioral outcomes fear-based messaging may have. These include distrust in public health authorities, skepticism of health messaging, a lack of uptake in recommended behaviors, and a plethora of other unintended consequences.

Conclusion:

COVID-19 has caused the global community enough stress and fear; there is no need to exacerbate these issues by using fear appeals as a health communication strategy. We urge health professionals to consider the possible consequences when determining what health communication approaches to use, and to think systematically and innovatively about approaches. The world’s health depends on it.


Stolow, J. A., Moses, L. M., Lederer, A. M., & Carter, R. (2020). How Fear Appeal Approaches in COVID-19 Health Communication May Be Harming the Global Community. Health Education & Behavior, 47(4), 531–535. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198120935073

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