Risk Communication in Public Health Emergencies: Practical Guidance Rooted in Theory

This book clearly explains how public health officials plan, deliver, and evaluate crisis and emergency risk communication before, during, and after health emergencies. Organized into four parts - precrisis planning, communicating during a health emergency, communicating and evaluating after a health emergency, and crisis leadership - it offers practical information as well as the opportunity to reflect on emergency risk communication best practices and theories. Including information on precrisis planning, implications of public health law, developing communication plans, writing messages, evaluating emergency risk communication, and crisis leadership, this book brings together theory and practical application to provide working professionals with evidence-based research and practical knowledge to effectively communicate during health emergencies. Case studies of emergencies such as COVID-19, Zika, Ebola, Mpox, and water crises all use the US Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication framework to analyze how health officials provided accurate and actionable health information to the public.