Innovations in Community-Engaged Messaging from the Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against Covid-19

The unique circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic led CEAL teams to move beyond conventional health messaging methodologies, and, instead, to provide community-generated messages that maximize the potential to be effective and accepted in the marginalized groups for whom they are intended. In conventional message design, focus groups and surveys provide community input, but message design typically comes from outside the community. Community-engaged message design has the potential to involve, engage, and speak to the experience of those most affected by the identified health concern by creating trust in and encouraging adherence to public health directives and guidelines. This report describes three innovative message development methods and protocols that derive from community members: crowdsourcing, digital narratives, and boot camp translation. Steps involved in development and implementation in the community-engaged context are described along with applications by CEAL projects. Such messaging generated from within the affected community can enhance trustworthiness, fit, engagement, and acceptance. The promise of developing and implementing messaging this way opens new methods for campaign design and sets an agenda for the next generation of community-based message research.