Influence of Covid-19 Crisis Communication on Public Perception of the Kenyan Government Communication Strategy: A Case of Kibra Sub-County Nairobi, Kenya

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.sidebar##

Published Jul 11, 2023
https://doi.org/10.71064/spu.amjr.1.1.191
Download
PDF
Statistic
2023: Special Issue: African Multidisciplinary Journal of Research

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.main##

Samuel Ouma
Winnie Ndeta
Susan Mwangi

Abstract


COVID-19 communication has drawn a sharp focus across the globe and elicited varied public
perceptions. This study sought to assess the influence of covid-19 crisis communication on
public perception of the Kenyan government communication strategy with a case of Kibra subcounty Nairobi, Kenya, from March 2020 to December 2020. The main objective was to assess
how the government's daily speeches influenced the public interpretation of the COVID-19
crisis. The rationale was based on assessing the public perception of the government’s
communication strategy. The findings of this study will be be helpful to communication
experts and will help in improving the existing crisis communication strategies. This was
limited to Lindi ward in Kibra sub-county. Source Credibility Theory (CT) and Situational
Crisis Communication Theory (CCT) were used for understanding perception. This study
adopted a survey design to collect quantitative data involving 123 household heads sampled
purposively in Lindi, Kibra through a modified Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication
(CERC) questionnaire. Averagely, 1% of the respondents disagreed with questions regarding
COVID-19 daily speeches, 8.5% indicated neutrality, and 90.5% agreed with the statements.
The study concluded that the public's perceptions of government communication strategy
regarding the COVID-19 crisis were favorable. The study recommends investigating the
impact of the centralization of the Kenyan government communication departments on crisis
communication.
Keywords: Crisis Communication, Public Perception, Communication Strategy

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.details##

How to Cite
Ouma, S. ., Ndeta, W., & Mwangi, S. . (2023). Influence of Covid-19 Crisis Communication on Public Perception of the Kenyan Government Communication Strategy: A Case of Kibra Sub-County Nairobi, Kenya. African Multidisciplinary Journal of Research, 1(1), 75–90. https://doi.org/10.71064/spu.amjr.1.1.191

References

  1. Abu-Akel, A., Spitz, A., & West, R. (2021). The Effect of Spokesperson Attribution on Public Health Message Sharing during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Plos one, 16(2),201-240.
  2. Alexander, P. I. (2020). Religious Construction of Disease: An Exploratory Appraisal of Religious Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Uganda. Journal of African Studies and Development, 12(3), 77-96.
  3. Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative Case Study Methodology: Study Design and Implementation for Novice Researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544–559.
  4. Bernard, N. R., Basit, A., Sofija, E., Phung, H., Lee, J., Rutherford, S., & Wiseman, N. (2021). Analysis of Crisis Communication by the Prime Minister of Australia during the COVID- 19 Pandemic. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, (3) 155–166.
  5. Bialek, S., Bowen, V., Chow, N., Curns, A., Gierke, R., & Hall, A. et al. (2020). Geographic Differences in COVID-19 Cases, Deaths, and Incidence — United States, February 12– April 7, 2020. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(15), 465-471.
  6. Bian, Q., Zhang, X., & Mao, Q. (2021). The more Actions, the Higher the Performance evaluation.Evidence from the Crisis Management of COVID-19 in China. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, (60), pp. 102–281.
  7. Christensen, T., &Lægreid, P. (2020). The Coronavirus Crisis—Crisis Communication, Meaning- making, and Reputation Management. International Public Management Journal, 23(5), 713-729.
  8. Chilanga, E., Dzimbiri, M., Mwanjawala, P., Keller, A., & Mbeya, R. A. (2022). Religion, Politics and COVID-19 Risk Perception among Urban Residents in Malawi. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1-10.
  9. Choi, J. W., Kim, K. H., Moon, J. M., & Kim, M. S. (2015). Public Health Crisis Response and Establishment of a Crisis Communication System in South Korea: Lessons Learned from the MERS Outbreak. Journal of the Korean Medical Association/TaehanUisaHyophoe Chi, 58(7).
  10. Creswell, J. W. (2014). A Concise Introduction to Mixed Methods Research. SAGE publications.
  11. Fu, H., Hereward, M., Macfeely, S., Me, A., & Wilmoth, J. (2020). How COVID-19 Is Changing the World: A Statistical Perspective from the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities. Statistical Journal of the IAOS, 36(4), 851–860.
  12. Islam, M. D., &Siddika, A. (2020). COVID-19 and Bangladesh: A Study of the Public Perception of the Government's Measures.International Journal of Public Administration, 1-17.
  13. Jervis, R. (2017). Chapter One. Perception and the Level of Analysis Problem. In Perception and Misperception In International Politics. ). Princeton University Press, (Pp. 13-31
  14. Knowles, K. (2020). Process and Perception. In Experimental Film and Photochemical
  15. Practices.Palgrave Macmillan, (Pp. 71–136).
  16. Lazarus, J. V., Ratzan, S., Palayew, A., Billari, F. C., Binagwaho, A., Kimball, S., & El-Mohandes,
  17. A. (2020). COVID-SCORE: A Global Survey to Assess Public Perceptions of Government Responses to COVID-19 (COVID-SCORE-10). Plos One, 15(10), 01-11.
  18. Lee, Y. I., &Jin, Y. (2019). Crisis Information Seeking and Sharing (CISS): Scale Development for Measuring Publics’ Communicative Behavior in Social-Mediated Public Health Crises. Journal Of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research, 2(1), 2-7.
  19. Lu, X., & Jin, Y. (2020). Information Vetting as a Key Component in Social-Mediated Crisis Communication: An Exploratory Study to Examine the Initial Conceptualization. Public Relations Review, 46(2), 101–891.
  20. Mohamad, E., Tham, J. S., Ayub, S. H., Hamzah, M. R., Hashim, H., &Azlan, A. A. (2020). Relationship between COVID-19 Information Sources and Attitudes in Battling the Pandemic among the Malaysian Public: Cross-Sectional Survey Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(11), 23-32.
  21. Makachia, A. K. (2020). Post COVID-19 Period in Inclusive Settings in Kenya. Challenges for Children with Disabilities. GRIN Verlag, 5-21.
  22. Mcguire, D., Cunningham, J. E., Reynolds, K., & Matthews-Smith, G. (2020). Beating the Virus: An Examination of the Crisis Communication Approach taken by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Human Resource Development International, 23(4), 361–379.
  23. Moreno, A., Fuentes-Lara, C., & Navarro, C. (2020). Covid-19 Communication Management in Spain: Exploring the Effect of Information-Seeking Behavior and Message Reception in Public’s Evaluation. El Profesional De La Información, 29(4).
  24. Mugenda, O. M., &Mugenda, A. G. (2012). Research Methods Dictionary. Nairobi, Kenya: Applied Research & Training Services.
  25. Murugi, M. S., &Mberia, H. (2019). Use of Image Repair Strategies in Terror Related Post Crisis Communication in Kenya: A Case Study of the West Gate Mall Attack. International Journal of Social Sciences and Information Technology, (4), 241-294.
  26. Nche, G. C. (2022). Is it yet, Uhuru? How Religious Institutions Disconnect with the Governments in the Fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 40(2), 286–303.
  27. Ogola, G. (2020). Africa and the COVID-19 Information Framing Crisis. Media And Communication, 2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pp. 440–443.
  28. Radlovacki, A. (2020). Crisis Communication in the Time of Corona: A Comparative Analysis of Danish and Swedish Public News Narratives (Masters Thesis), 1-13.
  29. Reisenzein, R., & Rudolph, U. (2018). The Attributional Theory of Motivation and Emotion: not Surprisingly, True.
  30. Rutledge, P. E. (2020). Trump, COVID - 19, And the War on Expertise. American Review of Public Administration 2020, Vol. 50(6-7), Pp. 505 – 511.
  31. Seiler, R., & Kucza, G. (2017). Source Credibility Model, Source Attractiveness Model, and Match-Up-Hypothesis: An Integrated Model. Journal of International Scientific Publications: Economy & Business, (11), 1-12.
  32. Seytre, B. (2020). Erroneous Communication Messages on COVID-19 in Africa. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 103(2), 587.
  33. Sjölander-Lindqvist, A., Larsson, S., Fava, N., Gillberg, N., Marcianò, C., & Cinque, S. (2020). Communicating About COVID-19 in Four European Countries: Similarities and Differences in National Discourses in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. Frontiers in Communication, (5), 1-9.
  34. Túri, G., Kassay, J., Virág, A., Dózsa, C., Horváth, K., &Lorenzovici, L. (2022). Riding The Pandemic Waves—Lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 Crisis Management in Romania. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 7(7), 122.
  35. Ulmer, R. R., Sellnow, T. L., & Seeger, M. W. (2010). Effective Crisis Communication: Moving from Crisis to Opportunity. SAGE Publications.
  36. Were, P. O., & Kimaru-Muchai, S. W. (2021). Evaluation of Self-Help Groups in Promoting Women Socio-Economic Empowerment in Kibra Sub-County, Nairobi County, Kenya. Journal of Global Awareness, 2(1), 6.
  37. Williams, C., Rao, A., Ziemba, J. B., Myers, J. S., & Patel, N. (2021). Text Messaging Real-Time COVID-19 Clinical Guidance to Hospital Employees. Applied Clinical Informatics, 12(02), 259–265.