Competencies of risk communicators at public health emergency operations centers: A scoping review

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis:

The Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) is an integral part of public health emergency management, and its timely operation can reduce delays in decision-making due to a lack of clear leadership and resources. One of the main functions of a PHEOC is risk communication with the public, which requires an appropriate system (communication network) and well-trained personnel (risk communicators). In the past, risk communication has been recognized as essential; in 2016, WHO published the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) tool based on the International Health Regulations (2005), which details the capacity of the risk communication in PHEOC as function. The JEE tool has been updated twice, during the Ebola outbreak in 2018 and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022, adding newly recognized topics in emergency response. However, less emphasis has been placed on the competencies of risk communicator personnel. In 2017, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) compiled a technical document on the competencies of public health emergency preparedness personnel, including risk communicators. As the JEE tool has been revised, do risk communicators require new competencies after the COVID-19 pandemic?

We examined the international literature on the competencies of risk communicators who work at public health emergency operations centers during crises to develop recommendations for future research and practice.

Methods:

A scoping review was conducted using electronic databases, including the EBSCO host, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science core collection databases. Literature screening was conducted by two researchers independently.

Results:

A total of forty-eight publications were extracted from the 439 obtained from the database search. Eighteen publications described individual competencies, 27 explained the risk communication activities of PHEOC, and three described both personnel competencies and team activities. Training was conducted in Europe, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and China primarily to develop individual competencies for all-hazard or terrorism prevention responses. On the other hand, about half of the practices were reported in the African region (especially Nigeria) and included many risk communication activities conducted as an organization during infectious disease outbreaks (Ebola, Lassa fever, yellow fever, and others).

Conclusions:

The identified competencies constituted the knowledge and skill sets required for risk communicators at the PHEOC. Knowing the competencies required of risk communicators may help organizations develop strategies to assign competent personnel and plan efficient and effective activities in crisis response and emergency preparedness.

Implications for research and/or practice:

The competencies extracted from the literature were limited to those required by the JEE tool or the ECDC's public health emergency preparedness core competencies. There may be a large gap between the ideal and reality of risk communicators or publication bias, in which details are not reported. In the future, it will be necessary to specify methods for training ideal risk communicators and recommend reporting on actual risk communication activities.