Elena Savoia|Leesa Lin|Kasisomayajula Viswanath
Communications in Public Health Emergency Preparedness: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute|Dana-Farber Cancer Institute|Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
public health crisis public health agencies engage variety public communication efforts inform population encourage adoption preventive behaviors limit impact adverse eventsgiven importance communication public public health emergency preparedness critical examine extent field study received attention scientific communitywe conducted systematic literature review describe current research area communication public public health emergency preparedness focusing association sociodemographic behavioral factors communication well preparedness outcomesarticles searched pubmed embase reviewed 2 independent reviewersa total 131 articles included final reviewfiftythree percent articles empirical 74 populationbased studies 26 used information environment analysis techniquesnone experimental study designpopulationbased studies rarely supported theoretical models mostly relied crosssectional study designconsistent results reported association population socioeconomic factors public health emergency preparedness communication preparedness outcomesour findings show need empirical research determine type communication messages effective achieving preparedness outcomes across various population groupsthey suggest realtime analysis information environment valuable knowing communicated public could used course correction public health messages crisism embers racial ethnic minorities underserved population groups suffer disproportionately consequences disasters emergenciesthe reasons varied complex include limited access resources help people take action emergency culture language barriers lower perceived personal risk distrust authorities lack preparation protective action frequent reliance informal sources information 12 central factors argue phenomenon communication inequalities define differences among individuals social groups accessing using health information resultant impact knowledge behaviors 24 solid body work social epidemiology documented connection social determinants socioeconomic position race ethnicity health outcomes mechanisms linking 2 less clearviswanath colleagues developed explanatory framework inequalities public health