Emergency Risk Communication: Lessons Learned from a Rapid Review of Recent Gray Literature on Ebola, Zika, and Yellow Fever

Abstract

A rapid review of gray literature from 2015 to 2016 was conducted to identify the lessons learned for emergency risk communication from recent outbreaks of Ebola, Zika, and yellow fever. Gray literature databases and key websites were searched and requests for documents were posted to expert networks. A total of 83 documents met inclusion criteria, 68 of which are cited in this report. This article focuses on the 3 questions, out of 12 posed by World Health Organization as part of a Guideline development process, dealing most directly with communicating risk during health emergencies: community engagement, trust building, and social media. Documents were evaluated for credibility using an Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, Significance (AACODS) checklist? and if the document contained a study, a method-specific tool was applied. A rapid content analysis of included sources was undertaken with relevant text either extracted verbatim or summarized and mapped against the questions. A database subset was created for each question and citations were assigned to the subset(s) for which they contained relevant information. Multiple designations per document were common. Database subsets were used to synthesize the results into a coherent narrative.The gray literature strongly underlines the central importance of local communities. A one-size-fits-all approach does not work. For maximum effectiveness, local communities need to be involved with and own emergency risk communication processes, preferably well before an emergency occurs. Social media can open new avenues for communication, but is not a general panacea and should not be viewed as a replacement for traditional modes of communication. In general, the gray literature indicates movement toward greater recognition of emergency risk communication as a vitally important element of public health.

The Effects of Social Media Use on Preventive Behaviors during Infectious Disease Outbreaks: The Mediating Role of Self-relevant Emotions and Public Risk Perception

“…The risk information is processed in a way that forms the salience of the risk, which in turn affects people's risk perception (Chong & Choy, 2018). For example, sensational media coverage of an infectious disease outbreak can amplify or height public risk perception of the disease (Ali et al, 2019).…”

“…The inverted U-shaped Fear Drive Model demonstrates that a moderate level of fear can engender a motivational state for adaptive coping behaviors, but when fear levels are too low or high, individuals may not attend to or avoid such behaviors (Janis, 1967). While many experimental studies have supported the original Fear Drive Model, other convincing literature has presented a linier effect of fear on preventive health behaviors (e.g., Ali et al, 2019;Hartmann, Apaolaza, D'Souza, Barrutia, & Echebarria, 2014;LaTour & Tanner, 2003). For example, Hartmann et al (2014) found that as individuals perceived more fear due to environmental threats, they were more likely to engage in pro-environmental behaviors.…”

“…The relationship between fear and preventive behaviors can be contingent upon the context in which fear is experienced. The inverted U-shaped Fear Drive Model assumes that a high level of fear can cause fleeing, thereby promoting survival (Ali et al, 2019). However, a high level of fear can promote preventive behaviors in a situation in which people do have no choice but to take such behaviors for their survivals as it encourages systematic information processing such as considering various factors related to the situation that evokes fear (Tiedens & Linton, 2001).…”

“…Typically, an emerging infectious disease involves rapid spreading, threatening the health of large numbers of people, and thus requires urgent action to stop the disease at the community level (Wurz, Nurn, & Ekdahl, 2013). Infectious disease communication is a type of emergency risk communication that is vital to public health and safety (Toppenberg-Pejcic et al, 2019). The difficulty of infectious disease communication arises mainly from the high uncertainty about the exact route of contamination, treatment, and recovery in an outbreak's initial stage (Lin, McCloud, Bigman, & Viswanath, 2016).…”

Perception survey of Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication in an acute hospital in the management of COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore

“…(8). The recent coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic, which was first identified in Wuhan China, December 2019, also accentuates the need for effective communication in emergency response (9)(10)(11).…”