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Cited by 120Public Relations and Crisis CommunicationDisaster Response and ManagementDisaster Management and Resilience

Communications in public health emergency preparedness: a systematic review of the literature

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Savoia, Elena, Lin, Leesa, Viswanath, Kasisomayajula·2013·Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science
DOI 10.1089/bsp.2013.0038PMC PMC3778998
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Abstract

During a public health crisis, public health agencies engage in a variety of public communication efforts to inform the population, encourage the adoption of preventive behaviors, and limit the impact of adverse events. Given the importance of communication to the public in public health emergency preparedness, it is critical to examine the extent to which this field of study has received attention from the scientific community. We conducted a systematic literature review to describe current research in the area of communication to the public in public health emergency preparedness, focusing on the association between sociodemographic and behavioral factors and communication as well as preparedness outcomes. Articles were searched in PubMed and Embase and reviewed by 2 independent reviewers. A total of 131 articles were included for final review. Fifty-three percent of the articles were empirical, of which 74% were population-based studies, and 26% used information environment analysis techniques. None had an experimental study design. Population-based studies were rarely supported by theoretical models and mostly relied on a cross-sectional study design. Consistent results were reported on the association between population socioeconomic factors and public health emergency preparedness communication and preparedness outcomes. Our findings show the need for empirical research to determine what type of communication messages can be effective in achieving preparedness outcomes across various population groups. They suggest that a real-time analysis of the information environment is valuable in knowing what is being communicated to the public and could be used for course correction of public health messages during a crisis.

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  • Previous studies have suggested negative associations between the extent of communication inequality and countries' outbreak preparedness, hindering the effectiveness of containment efforts and weakening societies' capability in response to health emergencies.

    “Previous studies have suggested negative associations between the extent of communication inequality and countries’ outbreak preparedness,49,52 hindering the effectiveness of containment efforts and weakening societies’ capability in response to health emergencies.53–55”

    From Social consequences of mass quarantine during epidemics: a systematic review with implications for the COVID-19 response (2020) · cites this paper as [55]

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Authors
Savoia, E., Lin, L., & Viswanath, K.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2013-09-01
Volume
11
Issue
3
Pages
170-184
ISSN
  • 1538-7135 (ISSN-L)
  • 1557-850X
DOI
10.1089/bsp.2013.0038
PMC
PMC3778998
OpenAlex
W1973086421
Cited by
120
References
139
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3
FWCI
5.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Biosecurity and Bioterrorism Biodefense Strategy Practice and Science (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (5PO1TP000307-05, 5p01tp000307-05)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Public Relations and Crisis Communication
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Emergency Medical Services › Disaster Response and Management
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Disaster Management and Resilience
Keywords
public health emergency preparedness, public communication, health communication, sociodemographic factors, socioeconomic factors, preventive behavior, public health messages, crisis communication
MeSH terms
Communication, Disaster Planning, Research, Public Health Practice

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