B.C. public health miscommunications can lead to mistrust, says expert

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control apologized after changing isolation guidelines without an announcement last week, but one public health expert says the damage to public trust has been done.

Heidi Tworek, Canada Research Chair on Health Communications, says the miscommunications between the public and health experts in the province during the pandemic has led to a level of distrust.

“If we simply see guidelines that have changed but the public doesn’t really have a sense of why and what the scientific thinking is behind it, that can really undermine trust,” Tworek, who is also a UBC professor, said.

Last week, the BCCDC quietly changed isolation requirements on its website, and didn’t issue any an announcement or provide context to the change.

The centre issued an apology on Thursday saying, “We understand the significant interest in these testing and isolation guidelines, which is why we updated the website immediately with clarifications made yesterday. We recognize this approach led to confusion.”

Health Minister Adrian Dix on BC CDC apology, and the general question of whether the BC government is struggling with communications — from media pool availability today: #bcpoli #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/bVvIlBVNY5

— Martin MacMahon (@martinmacmahon) January 21, 2022

Tworek says although new updates are important to keep people safe, this type of messaging can lead to confusion.

“It is unfortunate to see some of the sorts of mistakes and last minute communication being repeated and that the problems of confusion emerge once again… An apology is of course important, but I think there are some deeper lessons we really need to draw from this about how public health can communicate with the relevant groups.”

Related articles:

• B.C. COVID-19 testing to focus on those at greatest risk of severe illness

• BCCDC apologizes over COVID-19 isolation guidance confusion

• BCCDC changes isolation requirements for those with COVID-19 — again

With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, ongoing vaccinations, and a new antiviral treatment about to be rolled out, Tworek says clarity and communication with the general population is the only way to maintain trust.

“We need to be transparent and give the tools to understand what they are supposed to be doing, making it very simple for them to comprehend, and also really meeting people where they’re at and making sure that it isn’t just a change on a website, rather doing press conferences, using social media, make sure it’s going out to workplaces, going out through schools, and making sure it’s available in multiple languages.”

On Thursday, Health Minister Adrian Dix acknowledged the miscommunication and said the BCCDC usually updates the website per Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s updates. He said the manner by which the guidance was updated was not customary.

There have been a lot of changes and confusion about #COVID19 guidance recently. We updated the website yesterday with clarifications. We apologize if this approach led to confusion.
Thank you for your patience.

Read this thread to learn more about the recent changes.
1/8

— BC Centre for Disease Control (@CDCofBC) January 21, 2022

Tworek says communication missteps over time have led to distrust in global health officials around the world.

“There’s a lot more pressure on public health officials than there was towards the beginning of the pandemic. Of course at the beginning of the pandemic, [there was] lots of support for public health officials, and we’ve seen that dissolve away in many jurisdictions, in part because of communications missteps, or a feeling that that people don’t really understand why decisions are being made and the way that they’re being made.”

Over the course of the pandemic, B.C.’s health officials have changed guidelines and restrictions numerous times, and Tworek says there is possibly more confusion than ever around the province’s communication.

“There are many doctors working in B.C. who are confused about messages around masks. Why Bonnie Henry in some ways is actually contradicting what Dr. Theresa tam is saying, because Tam is emphasizing wearing an N95 or equivalent and we’re not seeing that come out in B.C.”

“The mistakes and delays in communication have become magnified.” A tragedy to see wholly preventable own goals https://t.co/gwhxmK8siy

— Heidi Tworek (@HeidiTworek) January 19, 2022

Currently isolation requirements are five days for kids and fully vaccinated adults who have COVID-19 and 10 days for unvaccinated adults.