7.I. Skills building seminar: Beyond the jargon: an interactive workshop for effective risk communication
Authors:   Organised by: EUPHAnxt, EUPHA-EPI, Sciensano (Belgium),   Chair persons: Jinane Ghattas (EUPHAnxt), Angelo Maria Pezzullo (EUPHA-EPI)
Published: October 2024

Risk communication plays a central role in epidemiology to provide information for disease surveillance and outbreak control. It is one of the of the eight core functions that WHO Member States must comply with as part of the International Health Regulations (2005) ensuring national and global preparedness for health threats. It refers to the timely and accurate exchange of information between public health experts or authorities and individuals who are confronted with a threat to their survival, health, economic or social well-being. At its core, risk communication is about empowering people exposed to a risk to make well-informed decisions in order to mitigate potential risks and adopt preventive actions and measures. Risk communication considers political, social, and economic factors; it analyses risk and risk perception; and it places a great emphasis on dialogue with impacted and targeted populations to help them make the best decisions they can. Therefore, it requires an understanding of stakeholders’ perceptions, concerns, and beliefs, as well as their knowledge and practices. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for effective and efficient risk communication has become even more evident than before. Risk communication should be able to recognise and deal with rumours and disinformation, and reach the most vulnerable groups, who have a higher risk of contracting the virus and suffering from COVID-related consequences. Lately, increasing attention has been given to this topic. The WHO set-up, in April 2023, a technical Advisory Group for Risk Communication, Community Engagement and Infodemic management (TAG-RCCE-IM) to provide independent review and technical advice in the context of emergency preparedness and response in Europe. The Joint Action PreventNCD aims to also build a framework for country-specific communication strategies for non-communicable diseases (NCD) patients in health crises in one of the Work Packages, by collecting and analysing health communication strategies in different European countries targeting NCDs. In this interactive skills-building seminar, we will share with the participants the knowledge, skills, and process of effective risk communication by using case studies from experts in the field. The session will start with a presentation on the core elements of risk communication followed by examples from the field. This workshop will foster an inclusive interactive environment where participants will hear from panellists sharing their experiences from different settings such as international organisations and national public health institutes. Participants will be split into groups and will be provided with a piece of scientific output, such as a research study or epidemiological report and encouraged to translate this technical message into a clear, concise message that can effectively communicate the key points to the general public.

Key messages

• Risk communication is essential to fight disinformation while empowering the public to make informed decisions related to their health and well-being.

• Epidemiologists and researchers should be encouraged to employ efficient and targeted communication strategies when disseminating their findings.

Speakers/Panelists

Stefan Schaub

Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (BZgA, Cologne, Germany

Federica Rossetti

Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium

Stefan Adrian Voinea

WHO/Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark