Abstract
Health crisis communication strategies in South Africa are designed with minimal to lack of input by African traditional health practitioners (ATHPs). Yet, ATHPs’ marginalised inputs are pursued when most interventions are unsuccessful for disease containment. The recent COVID-19 pandemic and possible future health crises serve as a reference point. This study proposes a stakeholder-inclusive and co-created framework for converged health crisis communication that prioritises ATHPs as primary stakeholders. This study triangulated the PEN-3 Model, Culture-Centred Approach, a Unified Model of Co-creation, and the Stakeholder Theory. Using a mixed methods approach, the study had a sample of 425 quantitative survey participants. This study also interviewed 11 participants. Major findings from a quantitative multiple-response analysis indicated that ATHPs are excluded due to their opinions not being as important as those of BHPs (25.7%, n=283). Most participants (81% (n=342) indicated that if ATHPs were included earlier in the development of health crisis communication messages, people would use these messages to improve their health during health crises. More than half of the participants (64.9% (n=276) indicated that using traditional healing services online will sustain the practice. Qualitatively, the study found that ATHPs’ voices are marginalised during the conceptualisation of health communication messages and that there is a lack of governmental structures to incorporate ATHPs inputs and voices. It was also found that there is a need for early inclusion of ATHPs as important stakeholders when health crisis communication messages are conceptualised. The study proposed a co-creational ATHP-inclusive, proactive framework. This framework offers a holistic approach to the current and future designing of converged health crisis communication to health message conceptualisers.