Public relations of health institutions in Niš - framing the pandemic

[N. N. Necić]

276 listova

Biografija: list 276. Bibliografija: listovi 245-260.

Communicology

The subject of this dissertation is the framing of the pandemic caused by the Kovid-19 virus in the press releases of public health institutions in the territory of the city of Niš - the University Clinical Center, the Institute of Public Health and the Health Center. From a theoretical point of view, the dissertation is based on the concept of framing, which has application in the practice of public relations and is particularly important in crisis periods. The main objective of the empirical research is to determine the frames applied in the press releases of the aforementioned public health institutions, used with the intention of shaping public opinion and public attitudes regarding the pandemic. On the other hand, the goal of the research is to determine how the citizens of Niš perceived those frames, or more precisely, whether they also viewed the mentioned problem in accordance with the imposed frames. The following research questions and hypotheses arose from all of the above, and the first research question is - Did public health institutions in the territory of the City of Niš use framing models when creating press releases during the pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus, more precisely in the period 15.3.2020. – 15.3.2021, and the second is - Did the citizens perceive the pandemic caused by the Kovid-19 virus in accordance with the framing models placed through the announcements of public health institutions in the territory of the City of Niš? The basic hypothesis of the research was - Public health institutions in the territory of the city of Niš used framing models in the mentioned research period when creating public announcements, which led to citizens perceiving the pandemic in accordance with the imposed frames. Three auxiliary hypotheses were as follows: 1) Public health institutions in the territory of the city of Niš most often used the framing of „responsibility“ and „actions“ as framing models, 2) Citizens of Niš followed the announcements of public health institutions during the pandemic caused by the Kovid-19 virus, 3) The citizens of Niš perceived the Covid-19 virus pandemic in accordance with the framing models imposed by means of press releases by public health institutions. The results of the research showed that public health institutions in the territory of the city of Niš used framing models when creating press releases, and this consequently led to the fact that the public opinion about the Covid-19 virus pandemic has beenn shaped according to the applied models. Therefore, this research has confirmed that framing is a powerful tool in shaping public awareness, which can contribute to controlling the attitudes, beliefs, will and actions of the public, and its significance is especially evident in crisis situations. According to the obtained results, the conclusion of this research is that public relations in public health institutions do not have the status they should, and these institutions should recognize the importance and role of public relations. In order to change the current position of public relations, this profession should enjoy equality and importance in the operation of every institution and in all other organizational parts of which it is composed.

odnosi s javnošću, eksterna komunikacija, uokviravanje, krizno komuniciranje, Kovid-19

public relations, external communication, framing, crisis communication, Covid-19

316.77:659.4(043.3)

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