Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE)

Risk Communication and
Community Engagement (RCCE)

Outline
• Definitions of Concepts (Health risk, RC, CE, &
RCCE)
• RCCE activities to be performed by different

stakeholders
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Objectives
At the end of the training, participants will be
able to;
• Describe RCCE
• Describe the benefits/challenges of RC
• Guiding principle of RCCE
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What is health Risk?
• Emergency/Health risk is any public health event or
incident presenting risk to life, health, and infrastructures
including natural, weather-related, and manmade destruction,
infectious disease outbreaks, and exposure to harmful
biological, radiological, and chemical agents.
• Challenges:
• Community becomes emotional and fasten to decision,
• community have questions which needs to be answered
• It is the time for receiving unproven messages from
different sources
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Risk communication and community
engagement (RCCE)
• Transparent communication to the public on
what is known about the health emergency/
issue, what is unknown, and what is being
done;
• Announcement of any changes in the

response strategy and the nature of any
preparedness and response interventions;
• Responsive, empathic, transparent, culturally

appropriate and consistent messaging in local
languages;
• Implementation of systems to detect and

respond to concerns, rumors and
misinformation
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RCCE is cross cutting across all priority
responses
All emergency response team should integrate communication
and education into all other forms of response
1. Emergency response mechanisms
2. Case finding & contact tracing
3. Surveillance
4. Laboratory testing
5. Public health measures ( SOE, closure of schools, quarantine,
isolation etc..)
6. Case management
7. Infection prevention and control (IPC)
8. Societal response
RCCE is integral to the success of responses to health
emergencies. 6
What is Risk communication ?
• RC is a continuous process that
needs to be conducted before, during
and after a public health
emergency.
 RC is the real-time exchange of

information between experts, officials,
and the public who face a crisis that
threatens their safety and security.
Information Decision Action (risk

& Engagement reduction
What is Risk Communication (RC)?
The two-way and
multi-directional
communication and
engagement with
affected populations
so that they can take
informed decisions to Its ultimate purpose is that
everyone at risk is able to take
protect themselves informed decisions to mitigate
and their loved ones the effects of the threat (hazard)
(WHO) such as a disease outbreak and
take protective and preventive
8/29/2021
action 8
Benefits of RC
• Timely, accurate, easy to understand & consistent
information is communicated
• Increase the knowledge of the community by

presenting scientific facts and research findings.
• Information can be about the nature, magnitude,

significance and methods of control of the emergency.
• Information can also include analysis of adverse

outcome and their probabilities
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Benefits of RC …
• It helps for individuals to take informed-
decisions/actions to mitigate the effects of the
threat (hazard).
• It helps people to adopt and practice preventive

& protective behaviors.
• It reduces fear, anxiety and panic.
• It helps individuals adjust to an event/emergency

that has already occurred.
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Risk Communication Strategies
NB: Outrage is a strong feeling of shock & anger

Public Relation
 Low Hazard
 Low Outrage
What to do:-
 Communications Surveillance
 Identify and address outrage early on

Outrage Management
 Low level of Hazard
 High outrage
Action:-
 Listen and acknowledge truth
 Give facts why there is no danger
 Calm down (respectfully)

Precaution Advocacy
 Low outrage
 High level of hazard
Action:-
 Outrage them to your level of concern so that they take
action
 Arose emotions
 prevent secondary crises
“Watch out!”
Crisis Communication
 High Outrage
 High Level of Hazard
Action:-
 Explain what is happening
 Deal with emotions
“We are all in this together”

How many squares are there?
How many black dots?
17
Which one is bigger?
By how much? 5%? 10%? 20%?
Which line is longer?
B
What is seen?
8/29/2021 Perception is Subjective 20

How many peoples are there?
Perception is subjective …. And it influences

knowledge
Incomplete data
People fill the gaps when they

lack information
Risk Perception
 Risk perception is a highly personal process
of decision making, based on an individual’s
frame of reference developed over a
lifetime, among many other factors.
 Simply giving people lists of individual actions to

mitigate risk isn’t enough,
Risk Perception relies on
 Perceived seriousness/severity;-medical
info/knowledge, effects on his/her life
 Perceived susceptibility:-personal risk
 Perceived Benefits:-usefulness of practicing a new

behaviour
 Perceived Barriers:- own evaluations of the

obstacles
Public Perceptions Of Risk Those Of
Experts – Slovic et al, 1970s
• Less concerned about • More concerned about
health risks that are: health risks that are:
• Voluntary • Involuntary
• Familiar • Unfamiliar
• Controllable • Uncontrollable
• Controlled by self • Controlled by others
• Fair • Unfair
• Chronic • Acute
• Diffuse • Focused in time and
• Not fatal space
• Fatal/deadly
Different Perspectives
People can be looking at the

same thing but see different
things
Challenges of risk perception
Perception is everything
RC principles and strategic Approaches
Principles Approaches
1. Build Trust • Public communication
2. Addressing uncertainty:
• Media communication
3. Coordination:
4. Transparency and speed: • Social media
5. Proactive communication: • Mass awareness initiatives
6. Involvement and
engagement: • Partner engagement
7. Integration of approaches. • Social mobilization

8. Strengthening national • Community engage
capacity
Uses A Mix Of Tactics And
Approaches
Actions for Building and Maintaining Trust
1. Be open, honest, transparent
2. Be consistent
3. Communicate first and frequently
4. State what you know, what you don't know and what you are
doing about
5. Show empathy
6. Address concerns
7. Follow up
32
An integrated model for emergency risk
communication
Adapted from new IHR external assessment tool – WHO
1. Strategies, plans,
5. Media and social SOPs, structures,
media surveillance, resources, and
partner , 1. Risk communication
systems simulation exercises
stakeholder, to test systems
community 2. Mechanisms at
feedback, national, local,
emergency international levels
2. Internal & partner
communication & with stakeholders
anthropology KAP 5. Dynamic listening and
rumour management
studies, other coordination (health care
social science tools workers, NGOs,
volunteers, civil
4. Directly or through
society, etc.)
influencers, including
awareness campaigns, 3. Media, social
community radio, 4. Communication media, web,
3. Public information,
interpersonal engagement with communication
communication, using affected communities education, and
existing community communication (IEC)
engagement materials, social
mechanisms mobilization, etc.
Common challenges of RC
• Denial, Fear and avoidance
• Low tolerance of public to threats (Withdrawal,

hopelessness, and helplessness)
• Changing nature of communities’ interest from time to time
• Demand of public health emergencies for greater

community participation
• High expectation of emergency service
• Declining level of trust from time to time
• Concern shift from the pubic to private benefit
• Changing in communication modalities

8/29/2021 34
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Risk Communication and

Community Engagement (RCCE)

• RCCE activities to be performed by different

• Describe the benefits/challenges of RC

• Guiding principle of RCCE

• Announcement of any changes in the

• Responsive, empathic, transparent, culturally

• Implementation of systems to detect and

 RC is the real-time exchange of

Information Decision Action (risk

• Increase the knowledge of the community by

• Information can be about the nature, magnitude,

• Information can also include analysis of adverse

• It helps people to adopt and practice preventive

• It reduces fear, anxiety and panic.

• It helps individuals adjust to an event/emergency

NB: Outrage is a strong feeling of shock & anger

 Identify and address outrage early on

 Give facts why there is no danger

 Calm down (respectfully)

 prevent secondary crises

 Deal with emotions

“We are all in this together”

8/29/2021 Perception is Subjective 20

Perception is subjective …. And it influences

People fill the gaps when they

 Simply giving people lists of individual actions to

 Perceived susceptibility:-personal risk

 Perceived Benefits:-usefulness of practicing a new

 Perceived Barriers:- own evaluations of the

People can be looking at the

7. Integration of approaches. • Social mobilization

1. Be open, honest, transparent

3. Communicate first and frequently

• Low tolerance of public to threats (Withdrawal,

• Changing nature of communities’ interest from time to time

• Demand of public health emergencies for greater

• High expectation of emergency service

• Declining level of trust from time to time

• Concern shift from the pubic to private benefit

• Changing in communication modalities

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