Introduction:

Civil society organisations (CSOs) can play an important role in crisis management and facilitate effective communication and crisis response. To improve capacity for intercultural health communication in future health crises, it is crucial to learn from CSOs’ experiences during the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic and from their cooperation with healthcare systems. This study aims to gain insights into CSOs’ experiences of intercultural health communication during the pandemic in two disadvantaged areas in Stockholm, Sweden. We also wanted to explore healthcare staff’s experiences of collaboration with CSOs.

Methods:

We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with informants from 15 CSOs with substantial local pandemic activity. Additionally, we conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative interview data from 21 informants involved in delivering intercultural health crisis communication during the pandemic.

Results:

CSOs emphasised the importance of effective and trusted communication, which requires more than translation. They highlighted the need for a deep understanding of how language, cultural frameworks and lived experiences shape the reception of public health messages. From the perspective of healthcare staff, the collaboration with CSOs was both necessary and transformative. The partnership with CSOs was a process of “joining forces, “in which mutual learning and shared responsibility strengthened the overall intercultural communication strategy.

Conclusion:

In times of crisis, CSOs have the capacity to act as community-based knowledge brokers by strengthening trusted, understandable intercultural communication and fostering a sense of community. However, CSOs are not just an extension of the public health authorities, but independent actors with a unique ability to communicate and build trust. Collaborative structures between CSOs and healthcare need to be firmly established well ahead of future health crises. Our results emphasise the importance of culturally and linguistically adapted communication as an integral part of inclusive crisis communication. These findings position CSOs as community-engagement actors in inclusive emergency preparedness.