Saman Choudary, researcher of the POLCOM-GRP research group, defended her thesis entitled “Analyzing Crisis Communication of Public Health Organizations during COVID-19 Pandemic on Twitter: Strengthening Social Media Crisis Communication for Health Emergencies” at the Poblenou campus of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) on December 12, 2024. The research, led by Dr. Xavier Ramon Vegas (UPF) was presented in monographic format.

From her professional experience in the Nuclear, Radiological, Biological and Chemical Defense (CBRN defense) sector, she has always had a high interest in the management of events related to public health, especially in crisis communication. The covid-19 pandemic was for the academic a fundamental case study to analyze how to carry out effective crisis communication using social media platforms. 

Her thesis therefore examined the communication strategy of three public health organizations (World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Médecins Sans Frontières) during the early days of covid-19 on 'X' (formerly Twitter).

Based on framing theory and the CERC (Crisis and Emergency Risk communication) model, Choudary conducted a content analysis of 8,164 tweets from the aforementioned entities, revealing significant differences in their strategies. The research also includes 20 interviews with academic experts and industry executives who pointed out the motivations and challenges during pandemic communication, as well as lessons learned for effective social media communication.

Choudary's detailed analysis has identified potential areas for improvement in crisis communication for these public institutions, embedded in the global health governance sector, which have been translated into a guide of practical recommendations. This document, based on empirical evidence, is a tool to improve the communicative fluency in the response of healthcare actors in their social networks for future emergencies.  Among the advice, proposed methodologies and resources included in the guide are the promotion of a common and consistent narrative that can deal with uncertainty, the clarity of messages, adapted to the needs of the public, especially those at-risk groups vulnerable to misinformation on social networks. Also the promotion of co-responsibility between civil society and the various actors involved in health crisis scenarios, as well as the alliances of health entities with other organizations or content creators.

The defence was chaired by Dr. Laura Pérez-Altable (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) and also included Dr. Iliana Ferrer Rodríguez (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) as Secretary and Dr. Virpi Salojärvi (University of Vaasa) as Vocal. They praised the “structure” and “transparency of the analysis” of the document, as well as the research transfer approach, which “breaks the gap between academia and industry” through a constructive approach that provides “specific actions not only for healthcare organizations, but for all types of organizations facing crisis scenarios”.