Abstract
Risk perception has a significant impact on decisions people make when facing a threat: a mismatch between actual hazard and perceived risk can lead to inappropriate behaviours and suboptimal compliance to recommended public health measures. The present study was conducted in the aftermath of a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak that occurred in 2019 in a primary school in Italy. The aim was to evaluate the impact of communication measures implemented by local health authorities (including face-to-face meetings between LHAs and the local population, weekly press announcements, implementation of a telephone hotline and of an information desk, and social media communication), on risk perception among parents of schoolchildren and school staff, and to identify factors related to a change in risk perception before and after the said activities. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to parents of schoolchildren (n = 846) and to school staff (n = 70). Participants were asked about the level of risk they had perceived at two distinct times: when they first became aware of the outbreak and following implementation of communication activities. A significant reduction of perceived risk was found in both groups (p < 0.001) following the communication activities. The largest reduction was found among participants who reported having appreciated the meetings with the LHA healthcare staff. Our findings suggest that keeping an open approach, explaining the actual threat to the population and adapting communication to different listening skills, are essential for health authorities to successfully manage a public health emergency.
Highlights
Risk communication represents an integral component of an effective outbreak response
In planning a communication strategy during a crisis, public health authorities must take into account that people tend to look for messages to be confirmed before acting on them, and often rely on multiple information sources before making a choice, including social media networks to see what their contacts are saying
This study evaluated the impact of a communication strategy implemented during a school tuberculosis outbreak on risk perception by parents and school staff
Summary
Risk communication represents an integral component of an effective outbreak response. Listening implies that communicators must show clear awareness of the public’s concerns This means monitoring the media, and using other methods to understand changing public opinions about the risks posed by an outbreak and the effectiveness of its management. In planning a communication strategy during a crisis, public health authorities must take into account that people tend to look for messages to be confirmed before acting on them, and often rely on multiple information sources before making a choice, including social media networks to see what their contacts are saying. We aimed to identify individual factors that were related to a change in risk perception between the two phases
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