Effective Ways to Encourage Health-Care Practices among Cultural Minorities in Israel during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tehila Kalagy, Sarah Abu-Kaf and Orna Braun-Lewensohn
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Tehila Kalagy: Department of Management and Public Policy, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
Sarah Abu-Kaf: Conflict Management & Resolution Program, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
Orna Braun-Lewensohn: Conflict Management & Resolution Program, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-13

Abstract: Following the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, policymakers have been occupied with the questions of whether and how to specially address unique cultural groups coping with the pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the potential for a culturally tailored approach to the transmission of health messages in a time of crisis among two minority populations within Israeli society: the Ultra-Orthodox population and the Arab population. To that end, 380 individuals from Israeli Ultra-Orthodox society and 360 individuals from Israeli Arab society completed a self-reported questionnaire in early April 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this study reveal differences between these groups in terms of the effectiveness of different channels for conveying messages and the channels that were preferred, as well as significant relationships between community sense of coherence and the study variables. We found that advocacy and motivation based on values, on the one hand, and recognition of the effectiveness of a culturally tailored approach, on the other, may be the best approach for persuading members of minority populations, who belong to collectivist societies, to comply with epidemic-control instructions.

Keywords: COVID-19; health policy; cultural minorities; community sense of coherence; Ultra-Orthodox Jews; Arab society (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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