Cleaning and disinfection measures are important for the control of COVID-19.Credit: MuchMania
In the COVID-19 crisis, science communication has emerged as a powerful tool for managing public health. In China, where new cases are waning, science communication played a vital role in the public health response. The national response was well supported by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST). It houses a science communication department, serving as the bridge between researchers and the public to promote science understanding.
During the pandemic CAST has focused on helping the public understand, avoid and navigate through COVID-19. Emphasizing transparency and openness, it quickly developed science communication campaigns, and ensured they reached every corner of China via all media channels, from print, radio and TV, to online. As the compulsion to quarantine slowly recedes in China, the lessons of how to mount effective science communications will endure.
Prioritizing rapid and reliable information
Perhaps one of the most visible changes in the age of COVID-19 is the widespread adoption of face masks. Early in the pandemic, social media was awash with conflicting information about facemasks. People were sharing ideas about how to ‘sanitize’ surgical masks for repeated use, or even to create their own masks.
To educate the public on the proper use of masks, CAST organized a series of articles and a live Q&A session. Led by Xiangyu Jin, a textile researcher from Donghua University in Shanghai and a representative for the China Textile Engineering Society, a member institution of CAST, the communications directly addressed the most frequently asked questions about masks, from their composition, structure, to their appropriate use and care.
Another need made obvious by the COVID-19 crisis is for reliable expert insights on disease and efforts to control it. To relay information quickly, CAST organized first-hand online reports about front-line healthcare workers, including some contributed by medical personnel themselves.
One such contributor was Tao Wang, who co-led the medical aid team to Wuhan from Shanghai East Hospital of Tongji University. Informed by his work in hospitals, Wang, who was one of CAST’s top ten science communicators in 2017, emphasized the importance of social distancing and recommended staying home. He co-authored two online disease prevention manuals, one for home-quarantined citizens, and another for young students, covering basic knowledge and facts about the coronavirus, and tips for staying healthy while at home, like how to maintain hygiene, exercise, and care for pets.
“For a public health crisis as complex as this, we may be unprepared, but our experiences will assist with improving our medical system for emergency response,” Wang explains.
Jinning Wang, from Chongzuo People’s Hospital in Guangxi province, was another contributor. She leads the hospital infection control team, which implements measures from sewage control to medical device disposal for cross-infection prevention. The hospital infection-control measures and procedures she described could be applicable to the home environment.
To ensure a steady reporting stream, CAST’s science communication team applied a flattened crisis management structure for more fluid operation. It held daily exchanges with regular contact points from its 210 national and 32 provincial associations. CAST’s extensive local networks also enabled access to the most remote regions. In southwest China’s Yunnan province, where a third of the population is comprised of ethnic minorities, scientific content is made available in multiple local languages. More than 100 trucks were used to transport around 10,200 illustrated pamphlets to remote villages where internet access may not be readily available.
Addressing mental health at home and work
As weeks of quarantine stretch into months, mental health can suffer. Many universities and medical institutions in China developed online counselling, mental health lectures, and helplines. Lin Lu, head of Peking University Sixth Hospital, filmed a video series to share perspectives for coping with mental problems amid the COVID-19 outbreak based on his psychiatric expertise.
“As numbers of infections and confirmed cases rise, misinterpretation of all the information will cause panic, anxiety and insomnia,” Lu says. “Maintaining daily routines and a regular schedule to ensure adequate sleep, a healthy diet, and at least half an hour of exercise daily, helps relieve anxiety and strengthen immunity.”
Equally important is alleviating stress for medical staff and infected patients. Interventions offered range from psychological counselling, to drug treatments. Care also extends to patients with pre-existing chronic diseases. Online Q&A sessions with medical experts, for instance, were arranged for lung cancer patients who had to postpone hospital treatments, which helped ease their anxiety.
Engaging industry and encouraging global collaboration
Beyond public health, effective science communication can help to drive economic activity in the wake of a pandemic. One affiliation of CAST, the Chinese Society of Forestry, organized WeChat groups for farmers, answering questions about planting and production management during the pandemic, sharing science-based tips. For office workers, other industry associations of CAST are sharing back-to-work best practices, such as how to use air conditioning in office buildings, or to address material shortages.
Communication of latest research developments is vital, and requires global collaboration. CAST is working with more than 140 international science and technology organizations to share resources and information. In March, Gang Wan, chairman of CAST, led a Sino-Swedish video conference to improve science and technology exchange and form a joint task group for combating COVID-19.
Researcher-level collaboration is also encouraged. Meng Fan, a professor at Northeast Normal University, and a member of the Chinese Mathematical Society, leads a team of researchers from multiple universities in northeast China to collaborate with York University, in Canada, on mathematical modelling of disease dynamics. They have explored the availability of healthcare resources, impact of delayed diagnosis, and effects of city lockdown, and other prevention and control strategies, informing local disease prevention and control.
“We need to enhance large-scale collaborations, between industry and academia, various sectors, and different countries in this critical moment,” said Jinpeng Huai, executive vice president of CAST. “It’s time to strengthen mutual understanding, trust and support across borders, and to contribute towards building a healthy community with a shared future.”