Almost 120 physicians, nurses and researchers from Boston-based Mass General Brigham are volunteering their time as "community messengers" to share information with people both in person and digitally about COVID-19 and vaccinations.
As information on COVID-19, vaccines and public health measures continues to rapidly change, the "community messengers" are helping people who "feel conflicted about how to keep up with the information and where they should go for trusted answers," Mass General Brigham Chief Patient Experience and Equity Officer Tom Sequist, MD, said in an April 1 news release.
"The lightning fast speed of social media can be invaluable to get a message out quickly, but can also enable the spread of inaccurate information," Dr. Sequist said.
The community messengers are reaching people in the community by creating informational videos in various languages, hosting live social media sessions to answer patient questions and donating their time at public speaking engagements or on podcasts and radio programs, according to the news release.
With the goal of connecting with communities hit hardest by the pandemic, which are overwhelmingly communities of color, the community messengers group is multilingual and multicultural with many members having shared life experiences with the people being served in the community.