With so much information on COVID-19 coming from various sources, many community members may find it difficult to determine what to interpret as fact. In conjunction with Spectrum Health Lakeland (SPL), the Berrien Community Foundation (BCF) and the Frederick S. Upton Foundation have supported a local campaign to stop the spread of misinformation around COVID-19.

The health system and the Berrien County Health Department determined that social media was an effective way to share information with the community. SPL received funding from BCF and the Upton Foundation to reach Berrien County’s African American and Latinx populations to provide accurate information about the spread of COVID-19.

BCF, the Upton Foundation and SPL contracted local social media influencers from around the community to post key information on Facebook, Instagram and other popular platforms.

“It was important for us to recognize that traditional communication and marketing channels may not be reaching all populations,” Lisa Cripps-Downey, president, BCF said. “While not conventional, this grant could help to open up channels of communication now and in the future.”

One such communication is The Internal Work of Love with Betty Fisher, a Facebook Live discussion between local author and influencer Betty Fisher Berth King, co-founder of Strong Women of Faith, and Dr. Loren Hamel, president of Spectrum Health. In just one day, the segment received over 5,000 views.

Both BCF and SPL hope this effort will continue to improve trust in health care providers among community members.

“SPL had already laid the groundwork for this through their Community Grand Rounds effort that examines structural racism and how this impacts the health of minority populations,” Cripps-Downey said. “This effort has already been successful in engaging the community in conversations and understanding about disparities in health care outcomes along racial lines.”

SPL will evaluate campaign results over time to guide future communications and incorporate broad-based community engagement. Meanwhile, BCF hopes to utilize some of these tactics to bolster outreach for other key efforts, including the 2020 Census.

“BCF was so pleased to participate in this opportunity and to have the ability to provide the necessary funding,” Cripps-Downey said. “This was exactly the type of project we have been looking for as we are the Census 2020 hub for Berrien County. In addition to the communication on COVID-19, we were able to provide additional funding for messages around the importance of completing the census to be communicated through this network of social influencers.”

Want more?

Watch The Internal Work of Love with Betty Fisher’s segment on COVID-19.