Table 2 Visual frames identified in public health communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From: Mobile social media as a vehicle of health communication: a multimodal discourse analysis of WeChat official account posts during the COVID-19 crisis

Frame

Description

Example

Freq.

%

Microcontent

Freq.

%

Authority

Actions or attitudes of governmental/public authorities

As shown in the right image of Fig. 2

87

31.07

Government spokesman

63

72.41

International cooperation

9

10.34

State government

4

4.60

Head of State of Malaysia

2

2.30

Higher education institutions

2

2.30

Department of Religious Affairs, Malaysia

1

1.15

Shopping mall official notice

1

1.15

Malaysian Medical Association

1

1.15

Exhibition Bureau

1

1.15

House of Commons meeting

1

1.15

Department of Islamic Development Malaysia

1

1.15

Chinese chamber of commerce

1

1.15

Distress

Psychological or social distress associated with the pandemic and suppression consequences

As shown in the left image of Fig. 3

79

28.21

Lockdown/movement control/quarantine

34

43.04

Economic depression

23

29.11

Distress condition (bleakness, etc.)

9

11.39

Foreign employees

4

5.06

Transportation

3

3.80

The variant of the virus

2

2.53

Postal service

1

1.27

School

1

1.27

Homeless

1

1.27

Illegal immigrant

1

1.27

Medical efficacy

Offering medical information, highlighting tests, vaccines, equipment, etc., suggesting cures, treatments, or preventatives for the virus

As shown in the top-left image of Fig. 4

66

23.57

Testing

40

60.61

Vaccine

14

21.21

Disinfection/sterilization in public environment

3

4.55

Medical equipment

3

4.55

Pharmacy/hospital

3

4.55

Treatment

3

4.55

Virulence

Indicating updated information about infectivity and reported cases

As shown in the right image of Fig. 5

35

12.50

Increase of infected cases

24

68.57

The graphical representation of a virus

11

31.43

Public responses

Public attitudes towards the pandemic, e.g., social distancing, and lockdowns

As shown in the top-right image of Fig. 6

23

8.21

Cooperation

18

78.26

Non-cooperation

5

21.74

Recovery movement

Measures and efforts related to economic and everyday-life recovery

As shown in the right image of Fig. 7

14

5.00

School

2

14.29

Transportation

2

14.29

Trip/hanging out

2

14.29

Economy

2

14.29

Lift movement curbs/liberalize MCO

2

14.29

Social activities

1

7.14

Daily life

1

7.14

Religious activities

1

7.14

Panoramic view of KL

1

7.14

  1. Freq. = Frequency.
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