Date Approved
5-27-2025
Embargo Period
5-27-2027
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. Creativity
Department
Art
College
Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts
Advisor
Jonathan Fineberg, Ph.D.
Committee Member 1
Scott Kiesling, Ph.D.
Committee Member 2
Sara Konrath, Ph.D.
Committee Member 3
George Aye
Keywords
Advertising;Empathy;Health emergencies;Messaging;Public health;Storytelling
Disciplines
Communication | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
This dissertation examines the role of storytelling during the COVID-19 public health crisis and its potential to foster empathy and action in a world increasingly marked by otherization, polarization, and anti-science sentiments. Using the S4E framework—State, Science, Storytellers, and Society—developed in this research, I explore the process of crafting public health campaigns and their capacity to elicit empathic (E) responses. Analyzing selected COVID-19 advertisements from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom, alongside interviews with public health storytellers from these countries, I investigate their tools and processes. Findings suggest that empathic storytelling in public health is shaped by how the State, Science, Storytellers, and Society in the S4E framework view the world. Key insights are synthesized into a strategy playbook, the 10 Ps of Empathy, which offers promising practices for future health crisis communications.
Recommended Citation
Bademosi, Kehinde, "DESIGN IN PUBLIC HEALTH CRISES: THE POWER OF EMPATHY IN VISUAL STORYTELLING A MULTI-COUNTRY ANALYSIS OF COVID-19 PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGNS" (2025). Theses and Dissertations. 3360.
https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/3360
