Risk Communication and Community Engagement During the Migrant Worker COVID-19 Outbreak in Singapore

Wai Jia Tam; Nina Gobat; Divya Hemavathi; Dale Fisher

doi:10.1177/10755470211061513

Risk Communication and Community Engagement During the Migrant Worker COVID-19 Outbreak in Singapore

Sci Commun. 2022 Apr;44(2):240-251. doi: 10.1177/10755470211061513. Epub 2021 Dec 7.

Authors

Wai Jia Tam¹, Nina Gobat², Divya Hemavathi¹, Dale Fisher^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ National University of Singapore, Singapore.
² University of Oxford, UK.
³ National University Hospital, Singapore.

Abstract

In early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) with large, diverse communities of migrant workers living in high-density accommodation was slow to develop. By August 2020, Singapore had reported 55,661 cases of COVID-19, with migrant workers comprising 94.6% of the cases. A system of RCCE among migrant worker communities in Singapore was developed to maximize synergy in RCCE. Proactive stakeholder engagement and participatory approaches with affected communities were key to effective dissemination of scientific information about COVID-19 and its prevention.

Keywords: COVID-19; Singapore; community engagement; migrant workers; risk communication.