The Problem with “Most People”: Racism and Ableism in U.S. COVID-19 Public Health Communication

• Published date: 01 May 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00027162231219334
• Author: Amelia N. Gibson
• Date: 01 May 2023
• Subject Matter: Part IV: Adaptation

256 ANNALS, AAPSS, 707, May 2023

DOI: 10.1177/00027162231219334

The Problem

with “Most

People”: Racism

and Ableism in

U.S. COVID-19

Public Health

Communication

By

AMELIA N. GIBSON

1219334ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYTHE PROBLEM WITH “MOST PEOPLE”

research-article2023

Public health communication related to COVID-19

does not typically address the needs of “high-risk”

Americans. Rather, pandemic-era policy has prior-

itized those who have the lowest risks for complica-

tions and mortality—white, nondisabled, employed,

housed, middle- to high-income American citizens

with private health insurance. This article addresses

whether commonly held definitions of misinformation

and “health literacy” are useful when public health

communication does not meaningfully address the

needs of chronically ill and disabled individuals. It

considers strategies used by marginalized people to

assess and understand medical advice, workplace provi-

sions, and education policies that typically assume low

risk and ignore comorbidities. It argues that the U.S.

should build a more equitable public health commu-

nication infrastructure that collects and reports on

race- a nd disa bility-specific data, accounts for com-

plexity in crisis communication, and targets the needs

of communities that are most heavily impacted by

public health threats.

Keywords: racial disparities; health literacy; disabled

communities of color; COVID-19; layers

of protection

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed several

known shortcomings in public health

communication to marginalized communities.

Since early 2020, U.S. media and public

health communications have acknowledged

COVID-19’s disparate impacts on people who

are marginalized—Black, Indigenous, and

Latinx people, as well as disabled and chroni-

cally ill people of all races. At the same time,

public data and policy discussions related to

COVID-19 mitigation and responses have

Correspondence: ameliag@umd.edu

Amelia N. Gibson is an associate professor at the

University of Maryland’s College of Information

Studies, where she researches information marginaliza-

tion, trust, and safety online and in health and learning

institutions.