The COVID-19 pandemic response: the role of communication, health law, and public policy for the 3 Rs (recovery, renewal and resilience) of an inclusive society

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every country in the world, with more than 185 million cases and over 4 million deaths worldwide as of July 2021. These cumulative case and death counts reflect only a part of the overall impact. The pandemic has underscored the need to reduce inequalities and vulnerabilities, foster democratic governance and political participation, and ensure effective and accurate public health communication. Throughout the pandemic, countries experienced the pandemic in different ways. Even within a country, socioeconomic conditions and political actions often resulted in disproportionately negative impact among some population groups. National responses to the pandemic and related information could not be applied or reached equally across different groups, and in some cases, further amplified inequities with COVID-19 outcomes and individuals' ability to respond. In response, the project examines and compares COVID-19 responses and recovery in the US and Brazil. Points of convergence and divergence across countries will be assessed from a legal and democratic governance perspective, policy and social equity perspective, and public health communication perspective. The first research question will focus on policy and legal actions and their impact on recovery, renewal, and resilience from the COVID-19 pandemic. The second research question focuses on the gaps in data for assessing pandemic response and recovery among diverse populations. The third research question focuses on COVID-19-related information dissemination and its societal impact. The proposed project will use a mixed methodology approach including a brief scoping review of research about COVID-19-related public health communications, administration of cross-national surveys and key informant surveys/interviews, and public policy mapping to capture broader regional and national responses addressing the main research questions. If successful, the proposed project will generate high-quality evidence of successes and failures during the COVID-19 pandemic and inform future crisis responses. (AU)