The Covid-19 pandemic brought the need for broadly inclusive health information into sharp focus. It became clear early on that people with a migrant background and a low level of integration into Swedish society were over-represented among those infected and those who died. Shortcomings in how official information has been adapted to the needs and living conditions of these target groups have been highlighted as a contributing factor to why they have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic.

The project is based on the premise that there is a need to ground health and crisis communication in an ongoing dialogue with the various target groups, in order to identify their specific needs for information that is relevant and comprehensible. What challenges have there been in Stockholm in reaching out with information about COVID-19 and vaccination to groups whose first language is not Swedish? What experiences do residents and civil society organisations in the multicultural areas of Järva and Södertälje have of information about COVID-19 and vaccination?

In a research project funded by the Swedish Research Council, researchers at the Transcultural Centre and Uppsala University have, since 2022, been monitoring and analysing how Region Stockholm, in collaboration with a range of other societal actors, worked to disseminate up-to-date and target-group-specific health and crisis information during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project is based on focus group interviews and in-depth individual interviews with staff who have been involved at various levels in the region’s health communication work and strategy, representatives of civil society, and residents of Järva and Södertälje.

The authors of the policy brief are Mattias Strand, Senior Consultant at the Transcultural Centre and Associate Professor at Karolinska Institutet, Sofie Bäärnhielm, associate professor, registered doctor, specialist in psychiatry, Baidar Al-Ammari, Health Communicator at the Transcultural Centre and Soorej Jose Puthoopparambil, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health; International Child Health and Nutrition.

The policy brief is expected to be published in autumn 2026.

Photo: Getty Images via Unsplash.