Traditional models of the public communication of science and Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in Iran (2017)

Media are the main actors in public communication of science (PCS) that they could change awareness, cognition, attitude, and behavior. Lewenstein (2003) described four common models of PCS which included Deficit model, Contextual model, Lay-public model, and Public participation model. The main objective of the first two models is increasing the level of individual science literacy, and public understanding. The goal of the other two models is empowering public and local groups, i.e. they try to improve
interaction between scientific knowledge and other types of the knowledge, and participation in order to offer solutions for issues and problems that science seeks to resolve them. In the last two models, the issue of public understanding is related to social
communications. None of these four models are superior to the other, and all of them have their strengths and weaknesses. So, according to the intention of PCS, it may apply one of the models. This paper describes attributes of the two first models by reviewing theoretical and experimental works, and puts forward an analysis for domination of deficit model on how to inform about Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever.