Study urges Sweden to rethink crisis messages for migrant communities

Sweden needs stronger ways to reach residents who speak languages other than Swedish before the next crisis, a new research brief argues. Its findings suggest that translating official messages alone leaves important gaps.

A Delmi brief, published on 24 September by the Delegation for Migration Studies, examines communication during the Covid-19 pandemic. It draws on interviews with 148 people, including residents of Järva and Södertälje, civil-society representatives and staff involved in health communication.

Participants described difficulties judging which information to trust. Local healthcare workers, religious leaders and others who shared a language could help residents make sense of competing messages. These qualitative findings concern the people interviewed, rather than measuring attitudes across all migrant communities.

The researchers recommend involving multilingual residents in designing and assessing crisis messages, preparing multilingual telephone lines and tackling stigma. They also call for communication that reflects people’s cultural and everyday circumstances.

The central recommendation is to build lasting relationships between authorities and trusted local organisations before an emergency. Regular dialogue, the authors argue, gives future crisis information a stronger foundation than outreach assembled only once a crisis has begun.

DailySweden

DailySweden's desk of editors, reporters, researchers and investigative journalists. We bring readers factual, truthful and objective reporting on the issues that matter to them.

Contact the editorial desk ›