The COVID pandemic has been disrupted, impacting our lives in various ways. There has been a tremendous effect of COVID in our communities. The type of communication, either high or low context, has played a vital role in people’s COVID vaccination decisions. The communication style can influence how people perceive information among cultures. Communities need to have access to information that is easy to understand because health literacy level of so many people varies. Also, it is paramount to consider the cultural aspects of many communities because all cultures have their own beliefs. Vaccination hesitancy has been one factor that caused high COVID cases.

The decision-making process for vaccination is context-specific and complex. There have been many drivers and barriers that affected people’s vaccination decisions. People’s vaccine decisions might be influenced by their feelings, moral values, belief, and thoughts. The communication method used, how, and who spread the information related to COVID plays a vital role for many communities of color. Communities of color comprehend information that is in their native language more easily. 

“A different language is a different vision of life”. – Federico Fellini

(Milincic, 2020)

High-context communication needs additional information to connect with the context, whereas low-context communication is simple and straightforward. High-context communication makes it more challenging for people to understand the information or messages that they intend to transmit. High-context type of communication method has been used to spread essential information, but it might not achieve the goal due to its content complexity. As we know, when this type of communication is used, it may increase the difficulty of accessing important information related to COVID. Therefore, this causes disparities across communities while grasping valuable information associated with COVID. On the other hand, low context communication works best for people’s understanding due to its simplicity.

Low-Context Communication Examples:

Presenting information in a very scientific and statical way: scientific evidence and statical data indeed support efficacy and safety, and this information makes direct connection with the content. Studies have stated that when information is presented in clear way help to build better understanding .

Using a language that is easy to understand: when information is expressed in a way that is simple, it does not leaves people with confusion and question in mind.

High-Context Communication Examples:

Telling stories: Using stories helps to engage and to convince information that eases individuals’ understanding because the overwhelming scientific evidence and statistical facts are not as compelling as the storytelling strategy. Also, when a story is used to transmit a message, it helps in effectively delivering a message.

Using credible communicators: Communities of color believe when leaders or health workers from their communities transmit information in their language and at the level of their understanding. When most trusted community leaders spread the knowledge, people of that community increasingly accept and trust the information.

Building trust: Studies have shown that trustworthiness acts better than expertise when addressing misinformation.

Connect with people’s values: As we know, vaccination decision is value-based. Connecting with the right people is very influential when we talk about values, and our values help us to make decisions.

The context of communication impacts people’s decisions regarding the COVID vaccine. The vaccine data on the Minnesota Department of Health website provides information about the percentage of race and ethnicity who have been vaccinated. Therefore, choosing the appropriate communication style depending on the audience is vital. As noted above, high context communication needs educational background knowledge to understand the information. However, low context communication is explicitly stated, which makes a better understanding. 

References

COVID-19 Vaccine Data. (n.d.). COVID-19 Updates and Information – State of Minnesota. Retrieved April 28, 2022.

Milincic A. (2020, November 20). Differences in high-context and low-context communication styles. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/differences-high-context-low-context-communication-styles-milincic . Retrieved September 3, 2022

Singleton, K., & Krause, E. (2009). Understanding cultural and linguistic barriers to health literacy. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 14(3). https://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol142009/No3Sept09/Cultural-and-Linguistic-Barriers-.aspx

UNICEF. (2020). Vaccine Messaging Guide.https://www.unicef.org/media/93661/file/Vaccinemessagingguide.pdf . Retrieved September 3, 2022