When the first cases of COVID-19 broke out among migrant workers, communication between healthcare workers and migrant workers was a challenge. In response, a group of volunteer doctors curated a pictorial, multilingual health booklet aimed at orientating incoming patients at Community Care Facilities (CCFs).
The booklet was quickly developed based on a thorough understanding of patients’ needs, contextual realities of migrant worker living conditions, and best available information. The booklet aimed to provide culturally sensitive information and advice during their stay at the CCFs.
Entitled “Recovering from COVID-19”, the booklet conveyed health information to encourage migrant workers in their recovery and reinforced policy decisions ensuring coverage of COVID-19 related medical care.
Not only did the booklet provide healthcare knowledge, but it also incorporated a comforting message of encouragement, echoing Singapore’s Prime Minister’s speech which stated, “You are one of us, we will take care of you.”
The CCF booklets were later modified to address the concerns of migrant workers in other residential facilities, including dormitories, swab isolation facilities, and recovery facilities. They were translated into seven languages common to the foreign workers: Bengali, Tamil, Hindi, Mandarin, Burmese, Thai, Telugu. Each version of the booklet is filled with culturally-relevant illustrations that convey a strong sense of community, relatedness and engagement. To ensure accuracy and relevance of information, content and illustrations were created in consultation with frontline healthcare professionals and with migrant workers in-person at dormitories.
It was important that all versions conveyed a sense of emotional validation and empathy in order to address the distress migrant workers might have felt due to the quarantine, testing and relocation. The booklets also emphasized proper health practices, including social distancing, wearing masks and hygiene habits.
A pilot print of 20,000 booklets was distributed across the three Regional Health Systems in Singapore for distribution to the various facilities. The booklets were updated to keep pace with the rapidly evolving policies in swab and serology testing and with feedback received. Four print runs of 90,000 booklets in total were distributed in hard copy across Singapore.
