Risk Communication and Community Engagement in Epidemics, Lessons from COVID-19 Pandemic

Risk communication (RC) and community engagement are perquisite for management of epidemics. Triumph of RC depends on adjustment of message and considering the characteristics of the sender and the audience according to the context and situation.

This article has been prepared using scientific and relevant articles and guidelines.

For effective RC , the essential steps include public participation; planning; credibility ; deference of other sources of communication ; financing & ethical considerations. For success in RC one should consider community culture, people's beliefs and their understanding of the event . The people’s right to be  worried in epidemics should be recognized by the authorities and participatory strategies rather than compulsive one should be prioritized.

In the pandemic of COVID-19, series of successful and nonsuccessful experiences happened. The of review of these experiences may help the policy makers in their future efforts .