Mask making on social media: Women’s mask making practices and advocacy during the COVID-19 pandemic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/qhc.v2i1.130132Keywords:
Advocacy, COVID-19, health communication, public health, social mediaAbstract
Background: COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus SARS-COV-2, can create serious respiratory problems, or even death, for those affected. Individuals who share messages about its risks and related risk reduction behaviors have the potential to make a broader health impact. Early in the pandemic, some individuals made homemade masks to address the limited supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and posted about their efforts on social media. Aim: To understand the grassroots application of the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) theoretical model concerning effective messages in early phases of a crisis. Methods: Using both individual interviews and observations, researchers conducted a study of 15 Appalachian women making masks during the Covid-19 pandemic and analyzed 9 of their social media accounts. Results: Through interviews and observations, the researchers gained understanding as to how mask makers used social media to create and distribute masks and engage their communities. Social media messages often contained calls to action, personal connections to the issue, and supported the mask makers’ efforts to reach a broader network of individuals. Discussion: An evaluation of the grassroots efforts of mask makers extends the CERC framework to the individual level. Conclusions: This study provides insight into the role of grassroots health advocacy, and the role of user-generated social media messaging in pandemic risk reduction.
References
Abd-Alrazaq, A., Alhuwail, D., Househ, M., Hamdi, M., Shah, Z. (2020). Top Concerns of Tweeters During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infoveillance Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(4). DOI: 10.2196/19016
Aldoory, L. (2001). Making health communications meaningful for women: Factors that influence involvement. Journal of Public Relations Research, 13(2), 163–185. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532754XJPRR1302_3
Aldoory, L., Kim, J.-N. & Tindall, N. (2010). The influence of perceived shared risk in crisis communication: Elaborating the situational theory of publics. Public Relations Review, 36(2), 134–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2009.12.002
Appalachian Regional Commission. (2021). About the Appalachian Region. https://www.arc.gov/appalachian-counties-served-by-arc/
Appalachian Regional Commission. (2017). Creating a Culture of Health in Appalachia: Disparities and Bright Spots. Key Findings Appalachian Region. Appalachian Regional Commission. http://www.arc.gov/images/appregion/fact_sheets/HealthDisparities2017/AppRegionHealthDisparitiesKeyFindings8-17.pdf
Austin, L., Fisher Liu, B. & Jin, Y. (2012). How audiences seek out crisis information: Exploring the social-mediated crisis communication model. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 40(2), 188-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2012.654498
Bandura, A. (2000). Exercise of human agency through collective efficacy. Current directions in psychological science, 9(3), 75-78.
Beatty, N. H, Meit, M., Heffernan, M., Dougherty, M., Rocha, L., Ruane, K. Kidwell, G. and Mamudu, H. (2019). Health Disparities Related to Smoking in Appalachia Practical Strategies and Recommendations for Communities. https://www.arc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/HealthDispairitiesRelatedtoSmokinginAppalachiaApr2019.pdf
Brenan, M. (2020). More Mask Use, Worry About Lack of Social Distancing in U.S. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/313463/mask-worry-lack-social-distancing.aspx
Barnett, D. J., Thompson, C. B., Semon, N. L., Errett, N. A., Harrison, K. L., Anderson, M. K., Ferrell, J. L., Freiheit, J. M., Hudson, R., McKee, M., Mejia-Echeverry, A., Spitzer, J., Balicer, R. D., Links, J. M. & Storey, J. D. (2014). EPPM and Willingness to Respond: The Role of Risk and Efficacy Communication in Strengthening Public Health Emergency Response Systems, Health Communication, 29(6), 598-609, https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2013.785474
Behringer, B. & Friedell, G. H. (2006). Appalachia: where place matters in health. Preventing Chronic Disease, 3(4). PMID: 16978488
Bennett, P., Calman, K., Curtis, S., and Fischbacher-Smith, D. (2010). Understanding public responses to risk: Policy and practice. Risk Communication and Public Health, second edition. Oxford University Press: New York.
Cairns, G., Andrade, M. & MacDonald, L. (2013). Reputation, Relationships, Risk Communication, and the Role of Trust in the Prevention and Control of Communicable Disease: A Review, Journal of Health Communication, 18(12), 1550-1565, https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2013.840696
CDC (2020 August 9). CDC Considerations for Wearing Masks: to help slow the spread of COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html
Cecelski, E. (1984). Rural energy crisis, women's work and family welfare: perspectives and approaches to action (No. 992323473402676). International Labour Organization.
Corrigan, P. W. (2000). Mental health stigma as social attribution: Implications for research methods and attitude change. Clinical psychology: science and practice, 7(1), 48-67. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.7.1.48
Cowling, B. J., Zhou, Y., Ip, D. K., Leung, G. M. & Aiello, A. E. (2010). Face masks to prevent transmission of influenza virus: a systematic review. Epidemiol Infect. 138(4), 449–56. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0950268809991658
Deller, R. A. & Tilton, S. (2015). Selfies| selfies as charitable meme: Charity and national identity in the# nomakeupselfie and# thumbsupforstephen campaigns. International Journal of Communication, 9(18).
Denzin, N. K. (2012). Triangulation 2.0. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 6(2), 80–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689812437186
Depoux, A., Martin, S., Karafillakis, E., Preet, R., Wilder-Smith, A., Larson, H., (2020). The pandemic of social media panic travels faster than the COVID-19 outbreak. Journal of Travel Medicine, 27(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa031
Dickmann, P., Biedenkopf, N., Keeping, S., Eickmann, M. & Becker, S. (2014). Risk communication and crisis communication in infectious disease outbreaks in Germany: what is being done, and what needs to be done. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 8(3), 206-211. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2014.36
Dubriwny, T. N. (2012). The vulnerable empowered woman: Feminism, postfeminism, and women's health. Rutgers University Press.
Evensen, D. and Clarke, C. (2011). Efficacy Information in Media Coverage of Infectious Disease Risks: An Ill Predicament? Science Communication, 34(3), 392-418. https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547011421020
Flick, U. (2007). Designing qualitative research. Sage.
Freeman, B., Potente, S., Rock, V. & McIver, J. (2015). Social media campaigns that make a difference: what can public health learn from the corporate sector and other social change marketers. Public Health Research and Practice, 25(2), e2521517. https://doi.org/10.17061/phrp2521517
Frieden, T. R. (2014). Six Components Necessary for Effective Public Health Program Implementation, American Journal of Public Health, 104(1), 17-22. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301608
Frisby, B. N., Sellnow, D., Lane, D., Veil, S. R. & Sellnow, T. L. (2013). Instruction in crisis situations: Targeting learning preferences and self-efficacy. Risk Management, 15(4), 250-271. https://doi.org/10.1057/rm.2013.7
Glaser, B. G. & Strauss, A. L. (2017). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Routledge.
Goldberg, M. H., Gustafson, A., Maibach, E. W., Ballew, M. T., Bergquist, P., Kotcher, J. E., Marlon, J. R., Rosenthal, S. A. & Leiserowitz, A. (2020). Mask-Wearing Increased After a Government Recommendation: A Natural Experiment in the U.S. During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Communication. V5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2020.00044
Godoy, M. and McCammon, S. (2020, July 13). What You Need to Know About Protective Face Masks. Life Kit, National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/09/889431742/what-you-need-to-know-about-protective-face-masks
Guidry. J. P. D., Jin, Y., Orr, C. A., Messnera, M. & Meganck, S. (2017). Ebola on Instagram and Twitter: How health organizations address the health crisis in their social media engagement. Public Relations Review, 43(3), 477-486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2017.04.009
Hauck, G. (2020). What states require face masks in public? Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado join growing list of states where it's mandatory. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/07/03/covid-face-masks-states-require-public/5371503002/
Han, K. H. & Jo, S. (2012). Does culture matter? A cross-national investigation of women's responses to cancer prevention campaigns. Health care for women international, 33(1), 75-94. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2011.630117
Houston, J. B., Hawthorne, J., Perreault, M. F., Park, E. H., Goldstein Hode, M., Halliwell, M. R. & Griffith, S. A. (2015). Social media and disasters: a functional framework for social media use in disaster planning, response, and research. Disasters, 39(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12092
Jahng, M. R. (2021). Is fake news the new social media crisis? Examining the public evaluation of crisis management for corporate organizations targeted in fake news. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 15(1), 18-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2020.1848842
Kratzke, I. M., Rosenbaum, M. E., Cox, C., Ollila, D. W. & Kapadia, M. R. (2021). Effect of clear vs standard covered masks on communication with patients during surgical clinic encounters: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA surgery, 156(4), 372-378. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2021.0836
Kar, S. B., Pascual, C. A. & Chickering, K. L. (1999). Empowerment of women for health promotion: a meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 49(11), 1431-1460. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(99)00200-2
Karidakis, M., Woodward-Kron, R., Amorati, R., Hu, B., Pym, A. & Hajek, J. (2022). Enhancing COVID-19 public health communication for culturally and linguistically diverse communities: An Australian interview study with community representatives. Qualitative Health Communication, 1(1), 61-83. https://doi.org/10.7146/qhc.v1i1.127258
Kiviniemi, M. T., Ram, P. K., Kozlowski, L. T. et al. (2011). Perceptions of and willingness to engage in public health precautions to prevent 2009 H1N1 influenza transmission. BMC Public Health, 11(152). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-152
Lachlan, K. A., Spence, P. R., Lin, X., Najarian, K. & Del Greco, M. (2016). Social media and crisis management: CERC, search strategies, and Twitter content. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 647-652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.05.027
Lam, W., Dawson, A. & Fowler, C. (2014). Health promotion interventions to prevent early childhood human influenza at the household level: a realist review to identify implications for programmes in Hong Kong. Journal of clinical nursing, 24(7-8), 891-905. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12646
Lee, B. (2020). Despite COVID-19 coronavirus, here is why you should stop buying face masks, Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/02/29/despite-covid-19-coronavirus-here-is-why-you-should-stop-buying-face-masks/#134189ed2ab8
Leslie, N. S., Deiriggi, P., Gross, S., DuRant, M. E., Smith, C. & Veshnesky, J. G. (2003). Knowledge, attitudes, and practices surrounding breast cancer screening in educated Appalachian women. Oncology nursing forum, 30(4). https://doi.org/10.1188/03.onf.659-667
Lytle, H. (2017). Spectators of war: gendered witnessing, age, and red tape in the First World War writings of Edith Wharton and May Sinclair (Doctoral dissertation, Wheaton College (Norton, Mass.)).
Lyu, W. & Wehby, G. L. (2020). Community Use Of Face Masks And COVID-19: Evidence From A Natural Experiment Of State Mandates In The US: Study examines impact on COVID-19 growth rates associated with state government mandates requiring face mask use in public. Health affairs, 39(8), 1419-1425. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00818
Martinelli, L., Kopilaš, V., Vidmar, M., Heavin, C., Machado, H., Todorović, Z., Buzas, N. Pot, M., Prainsack, B. & Gajović, S. (2021). Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic: a simple protection tool with many meanings. Frontiers in Public Health, 947. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.606635
Maughan-Brown, B., Godlonton, S., Thornton, R. & Venkataramani, A. S. (2015). What do people actually learn from public health campaigns? Incorrect inferences about male circumcision and female HIV infection risk among men and women in Malawi. AIDS and behavior, 19(7), 1170-1177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-014-0882-0
McDonald, J. (6 April 2020). COVID-19 Face Mask Advice, Explained. FactCheck.org. https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/covid-19-face-mask-advice-explained/
Milkman, R. & Milkman, R. (1976). Women's work and economic crisis: some lessons of the Great Depression. Review of Radical Political Economics, 8(1), 71-97. https://doi.org/10.1177/048661347600800107
Moorhead, S. A., Hazlett, D. E., Harrison, L., Carroll, J. K., Irwin, A. & Hoving, C. (2013). A new dimension of health care: systematic review of the uses, benefits, and limitations of social media for health communication. Journal of medical Internet research, 15(4), e85. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.1933
Oberhauser, A. M. (1995). Gender and household economic strategies in rural Appalachia. Gender, Place & Culture, 2(1), 51-70. https://doi.org/10.1080/09663699550022080
Oberg, T. & Brosseau, L. M. (2008). Surgical mask filter and fit performance. American journal of infection control, 36(4), 276–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2007.07.008
Ophir, Y. & Jamieson, K. H. (2020). The effects of Zika virus risk coverage on familiarity, knowledge and behavior in the US–A time series analysis combining content analysis and a nationally representative survey. Health Communication, 35(1), 35-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2018.1536958
Osuch, J. R., Silk, K., Price, C., Barlow, J., Miller, K., Hernick, A. & Fonfa, A. (2012). A historical perspective on breast cancer activism in the United States: from education and support to partnership in scientific research. Journal of Women's Health, 21(3), 355-362. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2011.2862
Perreault, G., Perreault, M.F. & Maares, P. (2022). Metajournalistic discourse as a stabilizer within the journalistic field: Journalistic practice in the covid-19 pandemic. Journalism Practice, 16(2-3), 365-383. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2021.1949630
Perreault, M. F., Houston, J. B. & Wilkins, L. (2014). Does scary matter?: Testing the effectiveness of new National Weather Service tornado warning messages. Communication Studies, 65(5), 484-499. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2014.956942
Perreault, M.F. & Perreault, G. P. (2021). Journalists on COVID-19 journalism: Communication ecology of pandemic reporting. American Behavioral Scientist, 65(7), 976-991. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764221992813
Perrin, A., & Anderson, M. (2019). Share of US adults using social media, including Facebook, is mostly unchanged since 2018. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/10/share-of-u-s-adults-using-social-media-including-facebook-is-mostly-unchanged-since-2018/
Porter, K. & Richards, M. B. (2019). Learning from Mom and Pop: "Making Do" in Design. Interdisciplinary Journal of Signage and Wayfinding, 3(2), 29-41. https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2470-9670.2019.v3.i2.a43
Rall, D. & Costello, M. (2010). Women, craft and protest: yesterday and today. Australian Folklore, 25, 79-96.
Reynolds, B. & Seeger, M. (2005). Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication as an Integrative Model. Journal of Health Communication, 10(1), 43-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730590904571
Reynolds, B. & Quinn, S.C. (2008). Effective Communication During an Influenza Pandemic: The Value of Using a Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication Framework. Health Promotion Practice, 9(4), 13S-17S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839908325267
Richards, M. B. & Perreault, M. F. (2021). Sewing Self-Efficacy: Images of Women’s Mask-Making in Appalachia during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Survive & Thrive: A Journal for Medical Humanities and Narrative as Medicine, 6(1), 13. https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/survive_thrive/vol6/iss1/13
Rosenstock, I. M. (1960). What research in motivation suggests for public health. American Journal of Public Health and the Nations Health, 50(3 Pt 1), 295-302.
Ruiu, M. L. (2020). Mismanagement of Covid-19: lessons learned from Italy. Journal of Risk Research, 23(7-8), 1007-1020. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2020.1758755
Schiavo, R. (2014) Health Communication: From Theory to Practice. Jossey-Bass.
Sell, T. K., Hosangadi, D. & Trotochaud, M. (2020). Misinformation and the US Ebola communication crisis: analyzing the veracity and content of social media messages related to a fear-inducing infectious disease outbreak. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1-10.
Servick, K. (2020). Would everyone wearing face masks help us slow the pandemic? Science. https://search.bvsalud.org/global-literature-on-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov/resource/fr/covidwho-18178
Seitz, V. R. (1995). Women, development, and communities for empowerment in Appalachia. SUNY Press.
Sharma, M, Yadav, K., Yadav, N. & Ferdinand, K. C. (2016). Zika virus pandemic—analysis of Facebook as a social media health information platform. American Journal of Infection Control, 45(3), 301-302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2016.08.022
Shifman, L. (2013). Memes in digital culture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Siegrist, M. & Zingg, A. (2014). The role of public trust during pandemics: Implications for crisis communication. European Psychologist, 19(1), 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000169
Skinner, C.S., Tiro, J. & Champion, V.L. (2015). “The Health Belief Model”. In Health Behavior: Theory, Research, and Practice. Glanz, K., Rimer, B. K, and Viswanath, K. (eds). Jossey-Bass.
Spence, P. R., Lachlan, K. A. & Burke, J. M. (2007). Adjusting to uncertainty: Coping strategies among the displaced after Hurricane Katrina. Sociological Spectrum, 27(6), 653-678. https://doi.org/10.1080/02732170701533939
Spence, P. R., Lachlan, K. A., Lin, X. & del Greco, M. (2015). Variability in Twitter content across the stages of a natural disaster: Implications for crisis communication. Communication Quarterly, 63(2), 171-186. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2015.1012219
Surani, Z., Hirani, R., Elias, A., Quisenberry, L., Varon, J., Surani, S. & Surani, S. (2017). Social media usage among health care providers. BMC research notes, 10(1), 654. DOI: 10.1186/s13104-017-2993-y
Tay, J., Ng, Y.F., Cutter, J.L., and James, L. (2010). Influenza A (H1N1-2009) pandemic in Singapore--public health control measures implemented and lessons learnt. Annals Academy of Medicine, Singapore. 39(4).
Vardeman-Winter, J. (2017). The framing of women and health disparities: A critical look at race, gender, and class from the perspectives of grassroots health communicators. Health Communication, 32(5), 629-638. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2016.1160318
Vardeman, J. E. & Aldoory, L. (2008). A qualitative study of how women make meaning of contradictory media messages about the risks of eating fish. Health Communication, 23, 282–291. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410230802056396
Veil, S., Reynolds, B., Sellnow, T. L. & Seeger, M. W. (2008). CERC as a theoretical framework for research and practice. Health Promotion Practice, 9(4_suppl), 26S-34S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839908322113
Vos, S. C. & Buckner, M. M. (2016). Social media messages in an emerging health crisis: Tweeting bird flu. Journal of health communication, 21(3), 301-308. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2015.1064495
Walker, J. (2016). Civil society's role in a public health crisis. Issues in Science and Technology, 32(4), 43-48.
Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M. & Obstfeld, D. (2005). Organizing and the process of sensemaking. Organization Science, 16, 409–421. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0133
Wendling, C., Radisch, J. & Jacobzone, S. (2013). The use of social media in risk and crisis communication. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development working papers on Public Governance. https://doi.org/10.1787/19934351
Woods, C. (2019). “We Really Have to Hit Them Where It Hurts”: Analyzing Activists’ Corporate Campaigns. The Journal of Public Interest Communications, 3(1), 117-117. https://doi.org/10.32473/jpic.v3.i1.p117
World Health Organization. (2020 April 2). Advice on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19: Interim Guidance. https://www.who.int/publications-detail/advice-on-the-use-of-masks-in-the-community-during-home-care-and-in-healthcare-settings-in-the-context-of-the-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)-outbreak
Yeo, S. K. & McKasy, M. (2021). Emotion and humor as misinformation antidotes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(15).
Yesil, B. (2004). ‘Who said this is a Man's War?’: propaganda, advertising discourse and the representation of war worker women during the Second World War. Media History, 10(2), 103-117. https://doi.org/10.1080/1368880042000254838
Zhao, X., Zhan, M. & Jie, C. (2018). Examining multiplicity and dynamics of publics’ crisis narratives with large-scale Twitter data. Public Relations Review, 44(4), 619-632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2018.07.004
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Articles submitted to Qualitative Health Communication should not be submitted to or published in other journals.
Articles published in Qualitative Health Communication may be used (downloaded) and reused (distributed, copied, cited) for non-commercial purposes with reference to the authors and publication host.
For all publications published in the first four issues, i.e. 1(1), 1(2), 2(1) and 3(1), copyright is shared between the author and QHC. For all future publications, the author is the sole copyright holder.
