Effective risk communication strategy by public health authorities to warn and alert people in advance of impending outbreak of diseases and protective measures to be taken could have prevented avoidable deaths such as those caused by dengue in different parts of the country, feel public health experts.
Risk communication was an essential public health function to disseminate information about outbreaks, epidemics and upcoming emergencies to people, Dr. Meghana V Aruru and Dr. Vivek Singh, who are Associate Professors at Indian Institute of Public Health-Public Health Foundation of India, told The Hindu .
They said risk communication has evolved as a sophisticated tool and deployed effectively in developed nations for people to take protective measures during natural disasters, disease outbreaks and food-borne illnesses, among others.
Risk communication alerts could manifest in several different ways – colour-coded risks as developed by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with red indicating the highest threat. After hurricane Katrina claimed over 1,200 lives and damaged property estimated at nearly $ 108 billion, FEMA disseminated information through cooperation and collaboration with State and local public health authorities. Similarly, US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have dedicated teams of epidemiologists to scour their passive surveillance system to identify any disease outbreaks.
The CDC’s Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC), which was formed after the 9/11 attacks and anthrax threats, has dedicated personnel who draw lessons from public health emergencies to improve and strengthen communication. In the United Kingdom, the Cabinet provides specific guidelines on communicating risks to their population, they added.
With large population in India susceptible to infectious disease outbreaks, it was important that any information about potential outbreaks or diseases be communicated appropriately and repeatedly to the public, the experts said. Information about dengue and measures for protection should have been issued at the start of the monsoon season with repeated reminders.
Although the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme in India has a long-term action plan document to prevent and control dengue and chikungunya with the States expected to prepare a contingency plan, very little communication has been in the public domain this season. Despite being inundated with information, the public health sector lacks the wherewithal to communicate appropriately.
“Year after year, we see dengue cases pop up exactly for the same reasons—lack of awareness about daytime mosquito bites, lack of knowledge about signs and symptoms and lack of resources on seeking help in a timely manner,” said Dr. Meghana , who is also US FDA Consultant , Risk Communications Advisory Committee.
