An Audit of Government Communication During Covid-19 Pandemic
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Date
2023-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
School of Communication, Daystar University
Abstract
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 with its unpredictability made it challenging to understand what to make of Government Communication. Nonetheless, it demonstrated the need to carry out a Communication Audit which was the purpose of this study to find out the perceived effectiveness of government’s communication on COVID-19 pandemic utilizing the systems theory. The objectives were to identify the intraorganizational communication channels used by the communication department at the Ministry of Health; find out their opinion towards the existing communication channels; assess the communications infrastructure and communication capacity of the government while establishing the communication styles in place. This research employed descriptive research design to administer questionnaires to 94 communication professionals in addition to conducting interviews to 4 staff and 3 Division Heads with the population of the study specifically being the communication professionals seconded to government during the pandemic period. The study established that the Ministry of Health significantly uses various channels to facilitate internal communication and revealed that the most preferred form of interaction was group meetings and face to face communication. The study confirmed that during the pandemic the communicative practices were characterized by top-down information dissemination, rather than horizontal or bottom-up communication. Feedback channels were ineffective and there was a lack of a systematic and coordinated approach across the organization. Overall, the information passed by the government to the public was consistent hence the conclusion that government communication was accurate and timely. The study recommended increased coordination and partnerships with stakeholders and planning for periodic Communication Audits focusing on both internal and external communication for a clear and unbiased view. It was necessary to draft a pandemic preparedness and response policy that would hopefully offer pandemic solutions.
Description
Masters Thesis
Keywords
Government, Communication, Covid-19, Audit
Citation
Arokoh, P., (2023, Thesis). An Audit of Government Communication During Covid-19 Pandemic. School of Communication, Daystar University