Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic for Future Public Health Communications

In the early months of 2020, society was on the brink of unimaginable change. Covid-19 was about to radically recast Americans’ understanding of society, science,  and safety. As we enter the third year of this pandemic, the question before us is: What have we learned? And how do we move forward? 

Since September 2020, The Rockefeller Foundation has commissioned Hattaway Communications to  conduct quantitative and qualitative surveys on Americans’ attitudes towards Covid-19 actions, addressing  testing, vaccines, incentives, and mandates. These six waves of surveys have provided the public health community with a better understanding of people’s attitudes toward the pandemic at major inflection points, and the messages that move them away or toward those actions and policies.

The sixth and final survey wave focused on the long-term changes in how Americans think, feel, and act in relationship to each other  and the structures and systems that guide healthcare and policy.