How Does WHO's COVID-19 Response Build and Challenge the Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE)...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Communication
• Risk Communication

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical role of Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE).
• Previous RCCE research and guidelines provide a foundation for evaluating pandemic responses.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has established guidelines for emergency risk communication (ERC).

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze articles from a special issue of *Health Communication* on COVID-19 RCCE lessons.
• To compare COVID-19 experiences with existing WHO RCCE guidelines and prior research.
• To identify implications of COVID-19 RCCE for future public health emergency practices.

Main Methods:

• Review of articles in the *Health Communication* special issue.
• Comparative analysis against the WHO guideline: *Communicating risk during public health emergencies*.
• Evaluation of how COVID-19 interventions align with, contradict, or expand upon previous RCCE evidence.

Main Results:

• COVID-19 interventions offered insights into the strengths and challenges of WHO RCCE implementation.
• The analysis identified areas where COVID-19 experiences reinforced existing recommendations.
• Gaps in evidence were noted, and nuances were added to previous conclusions regarding RCCE.

Conclusions:

• COVID-19 experiences provide valuable data for strengthening future WHO RCCE guidelines.
• The study suggests new directions for RCCE practice in public health emergencies.
• Integrating lessons learned is crucial for enhancing global health security communication.