ABSTRACT
The importance of risk communication was highlighted during the release of anthrax in the United States in September 2001, the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Asia in 2003 and the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009. Public health emergencies have shown that a lack of planning, communication and community engagement can make an event potentially more dangerous. The actions of health education and social mobilisation must be delivered within a supportive environment, for example, with easy access to vaccination services. Psychosocial risk factors describe individual cognitive or emotional states such as self-esteem which are often reactions to risk conditions and which also influence our desire and ability to create social networks. The risk communication approach must go beyond simply providing information. A two-way dialogue between the response agency and the public must be established to encourage community participation in the process of planning and decision-making. This can be achieved in three phases: preparation, response and control and recovery.
