The first edition of the book titled Health Communication: Preventive Communication Activities in the Pandemic Period, edited by Prof Dr Melda CİNMAN from Marmara University, was published by DER Publishing House. The book in question examines the most dominant topic of 2020, the pandemic, from the perspective of a communicator. How Turkey managed risks? Was crisis communication successful? What was our health diplomacy practices? Social media and traditional media fullfilled its function? In the book, there are studies about answers to such questions. In the part she wrote, Boyacı Yıldırım conducted a research on “Hayat Eve Sığar Mobile Application” which is used as a tool by the Ministry of Health in the management of risks during the pandemic process.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a health crisis affecting Turkey and the world. In this context, it is observed that various health communication campaigns have been carried out all over the world and in Turkey, especially to prevent the spread of the epidemic and to inform people about the pandemic. Risk communication, which is evaluated within the scope of health communication, plays an important role in minimizing the negative effects of the epidemic especially in health crises with global impact. Minimizing the risks in health crises can be effective for countries to take control of the damages that may be exposed not only in the field of medicine and health, but also economically and socially. Today, it is seen that risk communication practices are realized by using new communication technologies as well as traditional methods. Utilizing new communicationtechnologies in communication campaigns increases the effectiveness of the campaign and enablesactive participation of users, and offers new opportunities to affect public health within the scope of health communication programs. One of the applications developed by the Republic of Turkey Ministery of Health within the scope of Covid-19 pandemic is the “Hayat Eve Sığar” mobile application. In this context, in the study, the inputs under the title of “Hayat Eve Sığar Application” in the Ekşi Sözlük were analyzed and the opinions of the public about the application were analyzed.According to the findings, the inputs included in the Ekşi Sözlük containmostly negative opinions. In this context, it can be stated that the Republic of Turkey Ministery of Health should carry out various studies to improve the application and increase its effectiveness by considering the opinions of the public in the context of negative and technical deficiencies.
