Pandemic politics: Exploring the intersection of state political affiliation and public universities’ COVID-19 policies and messaging
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.0790Keywords:
COVID-19, politics, state government, higher education emergency management, university policies, restrictiveness, transparency, quantitative content analysisAbstract
As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread within the United States, the challenge of responding to a large-scale health crisis was compounded as the federal government struggled to deliver a unified response. Decision-making powers for pandemic protocols were passed to individual states, whose responses were heavily influenced by their administrations’ partisan political leanings. This study explores differences in the transparency of COVID-19 information on university websites and the restrictiveness of the measures they implemented by examining university messaging in all-Republican and all-Democrat controlled states. This study employs a quantitative content analysis of a census of websites (N = 265) from public universities located in states with government trifectas. The data reveal that masking, vaccination, and testing measures were significantly more restrictive among universities located in Democratic trifectas than in Republican trifectas. Additionally, universities in Democratic trifectas communicated more transparently, such that they were more likely to have a direct link to COVID-19 information on their homepages. The results indicate that universities in states where a single political party holds power implemented COVID-19 protocols that reflected the political viewpoints on the health and economic responses to the pandemic. This finding offers important evidence that both governments and public universities based their public health decisions on political factors.
References
Burke L: Colleges move classes online as coronavirus infects more. Inside Higher Ed Web. March 9, 2020. Available at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/03/09/colleges-move-classesonline-coronavirus-infects-more. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Kamenetz A: 6 ways universities are responding to coronavirus. NPR. March 6, 2020. Available at https://www.npr.org/2020/03/06/812462913/6-ways-universities-are-responding-tocoronavirus. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Kamenetz A: A growing number of U.S. colleges cancel classes amid coronavirus fears. NPR. March 9, 2020. Available at https://www.npr.org/2020/03/09/813750481/more-than-20-colleges-cancel-inperson-classes-in-response-to-coronavirus. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Strawser MG: Higher Education Implications for Teaching and Learning During COVID-19. Washington, DC: Lexington Books, 2022.
Burke L: Communications research suggests leaders think about COVID-19 differently from other crises. Inside Higher Ed. November 6, 2020. Available at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/11/06/communications-research-suggests-leaders-thinkabout-covid-19-differently-other. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Andrew S, Hickey C, Merrill C, et al.: The US has 4 percent of the world’s population but 25 percent of its coronavirus cases. CNN. June 30, 2020. Available at https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/30/health/us-coronavirus-toll-in-numbers-june-trnd/index.html. Accessed April 8, 2022.
Buck RA: A better approach to managing COVID-19 and its effects. J Emerg Manag. 2020; 18(7): 151-156.
Myers N, Thornton TE: Accountability, polarization, and federalism: Oversight during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. J Emerg Manag. 2021; 19(7): 49-58.
Kapucu N, Moynihan D: Trump’s (mis) management of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. Policy Stud. 2021; 42(5-6): 592-610.
Segers G, O’Keefe E, Navarro A: States move forward with coordinating coronavirus response after Trump backs down. CBS News. April 15, 2020. Available at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-states-coordinating-responsereopening-new-york-trump/. Accessed April 8, 2022.
Norwood C: Most states have issued stay-at-home orders, but enforcement varies widely. PBS. April 3, 2020. Available at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/most-states-have-issued-stay-athome-orders-but-enforcement-varies-widely. Accessed April 10, 2022.
Ballotpedia: States that did not issue stay-at-home orders in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020. Ballotpedia. 2020. Available at https://ballotpedia.org/States_that_did_not_issue_stay-at-home_orders_in_response_to_the_coronavirus_(COVID-19)_pandemic. Accessed April 10, 2022.
Parker SW, Hansen MA, Bernadowski C: COVID-19 campus closures in the United States: American student perceptions of forced transition to remote learning. Social Sci. 2021; 10(2): 62.
Ojo A, Forman HP, Gross CP: Colleges and COVID-19 data dashboards—Not just an academic exercise. JAMA Health Forum. 2020; 1(10): e201272.
Cunningham M, Scanlon Q: Gov. Gavin Newsom will not be removed in California recall election, ABC News projects. ABC News. September 15, 2021. Available at https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gov-gavin-newsom-faces-potential-ousting-california-recall-2021/story?id=79520587. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Klein R: California Gov. Gavin Newsom romps based on twin fears of COVID-19 and Trump. ABC News. September 15, 2021. Available at https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/analysis-californiagov-gavin-newsom-romps-based-twin/story?id=80027489. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Associated Press: Florida is suing Biden over the vaccine mandate for federal contractors. NPR. April 20, 2021. Available at https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/10/28/1050131916/desantis-florida-vaccine-mandate-lawsuit. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Man A: Ron DeSantis’ colossal COVID-19 gamble: Schools, vaccinations, masks—And his political future. Sun Sentinel. August 23, 2021. Available at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ron-desantis-colossal-covid-19-gamble-schools-vaccinations-masks-%E2%80%94-and-his-political-future/ar-AANCEME. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Mistich D: 3 Florida educators die of COVID-19 within 24 hours as schools prepare to reopen. NPR. August 14, 2021. Available at https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-liveupdates/2021/08/14/1027730035/broward-county-florida-teachers-covid-coronavirus-deaths. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Hernandez J, Shivaram D: Some Florida school districts will require masks. The Governor may cut their funding. NPR. August 6, 2021. Available at https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-liveupdates/2021/08/06/1025192746/some-florida-school-districts-will-require-masks-the-governor-may-cut-their-fund. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Dailey R: Florida university leaders say their ‘hands are tied’ and they cannot mandate masks. Orlando Weekly. August 31, 2021. Available at https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2021/08/31/florida-university-leaders-say-their-hands-aretied-and-they-cannot-mandate-masks. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Cohen L: Florida Board of Education votes to withhold funds from school districts that enforce COVID-19 mask mandates. CBS News. October 8, 2021. Available at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-mask-mandates-florida-board-of-education-funds/. Accessed April 24, 2022.
American Council on Education: 2021 fall term pulse point survey of college and University Presidents. 2021. Available at https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Pulse-Point-Survey-Fall2021.pdf. Accessed April 9, 2022.
Ballotpedia: State government trifectas. Ballotpedia. April 9, 2022. Available at https://ballotpedia.org/State_government_trifectas. Accessed April 9, 2022.
Hou Y: Reflections on the emergency management capacity of public health emergencies in universities in the context of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. Health Educ Health Promot. 2020; 15(06): 706-708.
Tao J, Song Z, Yang L, et al.: Emergency management for preventing and controlling nosocomial infection of the 2019 novel coronavirus: Implications for the dermatology department. Br J Dermatol. 2020; 182(6): 1477-1478.
Johnson E: Communication during the COVID crisis: Learning from our mistakes. New America, 2021.
Vardavas C, Odani S, Nikitara K, et al.: Public perspective on the governmental response, communication and trust in the governmental decisions in mitigating COVID-19 early in the pandemic across the G7 countries. Prev Med Rep. 2021; 21: 101252.
Bish A, Yardley L, Nicoll A, et al.: Factors associated with uptake of vaccination against pandemic influenza: A systematic review. Vaccine. 2011; 29(38): 6472-6484.
Jin Y, Iles I, Austin L, et al.: The Infectious Disease Threat (IDT) Appraisal Model: How perceptions of IDT predictability and controllability predict individuals’ responses to risks. Int J Strat Commun. 2021; 14(4): 246-271.
Kowitt SD, Schmidt AM, Hannan A, et al.: Awareness and trust of the FDA and CDC: Results from a national sample of US adults and adolescents. PLoS One. 2017; 12(5): e0177546.
French PE, Raymond ES: Pandemic influenza planning: An extraordinary ethical dilemma for local government officials. Public Adm Rev. 2009; 69(5): 823-830.
Lee Y, Li JQ: The role of communication transparency and organizational trust in publics’ perceptions, attitudes and social distancing behaviour: A case study of the COVID-19 outbreak. J Contingen Crisis Manag. 2021; 29(4): 368-384.
Vogels EA, Perrin A, Rainie L, et al.: 53 percent of Americans say the internet has been essential during the COVID-19 outbreak. Pew Research Center. April 30, 2020. Available at https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/04/30/53-of-americans-say-the-internet-has-been-essential-during-the-COVID-19-outbreak/. Accessed April 3, 2022.
Boin A, Hart P: Public leadership in times of crisis: Mission impossible? Public Adm Rev. 2003; 63(5): 544-553.
Kamarck E: In a national emergency, presidential competence is crucial. Brookings, 2020.
Moynihan D, Roberts A: Dysfunction by design: Trumpism as administrative doctrine. Public Adm Rev. 2021; 81(1): 152-156.
Lipton E, Goodnough A, Shear MD, et al.: The C.D.C. waited ‘its entire existence for this moment.’ What went wrong? New York Times. Jun 3, 2020. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/us/cdc-coronavirus.html. Accessed April 3, 2022.
Gusmano MK, Miller EA, Nadash P, et al.: Partisanship in initial state responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. World Med Health Policy. 2020; 12(4): 380-389.
Adolph C, Amano K, Bang-Jensen B, et al.: Governor partisanship explains the adoption of statewide mask mandates in response to COVID-19. medRxiv. 2021.
Baccini L, Brodeur A: Explaining governors’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Am Polit Res. 2021; 49(2): 215-220.
Adolph C, Amano K, Bang-Jensen B, et al.: Pandemic politics: Timing state-level social distancing responses to COVID-19. J Health Polit Policy Law. 2021; 46(2): 211-233.
Saad L: How governors, CDC and Trump stack up on COVID- 19. Gallup. September 15, 2020. Available at https://news.gallup.com/poll/320147/governors-cdc-trump-stack-covid.aspx. Accessed May 19, 2022.
Clinton J, Cohen J, Lapinski JS, et al.: Partisan pandemic: How partisanship and public health concerns affect individuals’ social mobility during COVID-19. Sci Adv. 2021; 7(2): eabd7204. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd7204.
Ballotpedia: State government policies about vaccine requirements (vaccine passports). Ballotpedia. April 3, 2022. Available at https://ballotpedia.org/State_government_policies_about_vaccine_requirements_(vaccine_passports). Accessed April 3, 2022.
Booeshaghi AS, Tan F, Renton B, et al.: Markedly heterogeneous COVID-19 testing plans among US colleges and universities. MedRxiv. August 11, 2020.
Brown KL, Holguin G, Scott TH: Emergency management communication on university web sites: A 7-year study. J Emerg Manag. 2016; 14(4): 259-268.
Kim KH, Lee Y: Employees’ communicative behaviors in response to emotional exhaustion: The moderating role of transparent communication. Int J Strat Commun. 2021; 15(5): 410-424.
McKinley CJ, Luo Y, Wright PJ, et al.: Reexamining LGBT resources on college counseling center websites: An over-time and cross-country analysis. J Appl Commun Res. 2015; 43(1): 112-129.
Wright PJ, McKinley CJ: Mental health resources for LGBT collegians: A content analysis of college counseling center web sites. J Homosex. 2010; 58(1): 138-147.
Kantor BN, Kantor J: Non-pharmaceutical interventions for pandemic COVID-19: A cross-sectional investigation of us general public beliefs, attitudes, and actions. Front Med. 2020; 7: 1-6.
Rowan NJ, Moral RA: Disposable face masks and reusable face coverings as non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIS) to prevent transmission of SARS-COV-2 variants that cause coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Role of new sustainable NPI design innovations and predictive mathematical modelling. Sci Total Environ. 2021; 772: 145530.
Neuendorf KA: Reliability. In The Content Analysis Guidebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2017: 165-200.
Krippendorff K: Agreement and information in the reliability of coding. Commun Methods Meas. 2011; 5(2): 93-112.
Song P, Zhao J, Mubarak SM, et al.: Critical success factors for epidemic emergency management in colleges and universities during COVID-19: A study based on DEMATEL method. Saf Sci. 2022; 145: 105498.
Mauch JE, Sabloff PL: Reform and Change in Higher Education: International Perspectives. Milton Park: Routledge, 1995.
World Health Organization: WHO coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard. May 16, 2022. Available at https://covid19.who.int/. Accessed May 16, 2022.
Beals M: Growing list of Republicans will not attend SOTU over testing mandate. The Hill. March 1, 2022. Available at https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/596348-growing-list-of-republicans-will-not-attend-sotu-over-testing-mandate/. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Neelon B, Mutiso F, Mueller NT, et al.: Associations between governor political affiliation and COVID-19 cases, deaths, and testing in the US. Am J Prev Med. 2021; 61(1): 115-119.
Hearn JC, Holdsworth JM: Influences of state-level policies and practices on college students’ learning. Peabody J Educ. 2002; 77(3): 6-39.
Flew T: Digital communication, the crisis of trust, and the post-global. Commun Res Pract. 2019; 5(1): 4-22.
Erman M, Satija B: A third of US COVID now caused by Omicron Ba.2 as overall cases fall. Reuters. March 23, 2022. Available at http://www.reuters.com/world/us/omicron-sub-variant-ba2-makes-up-349-covid-variants-us-cdc-2022-03-22/. Accessed April 24, 2022.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright 2007-2023, Weston Medical Publishing, LLC and Journal of Emergency Management. All Rights Reserved
