Utilizing Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) Core Principles When Communicating with Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic presented many significant challenges for public health communications, it has also provided opportunities to strengthen partnerships, enhance risk communications principles and utilize new techniques that enhanced the ability to disseminate information and respond to the needs of the entire healthcare workforce, as well as patients.

Program background:

Communicators from CDC’s Division for Healthcare Quality Promotion utilized Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) core principles and best practices to ensure accurate, concise infection prevention and control information reached healthcare workers in a timely manner to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in healthcare facilities.

Communicators created multiple forms of short trainings, fact sheets, diagrams, and flyers to supplement the more detailed infection prevention guidance to allow for a more clear, concise version that would be easily accessible to all levels of healthcare personnel. Products ranged from basic, everyday infection control practices such as hand hygiene and environmental disinfection to COVID-19 specific infection control measures such as use of personal protective equipment, facility entry screening, and social distancing guidelines. The materials had to be relevant to a very diverse workforce with varying levels of medical training. These materials were distributed and available for facility leadership to inform and educate personnel about changes occurring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Evaluation Methods and Results: Formal evaluation was not conducted, however anecdotally facility partner organizations shared members appreciation for these communication products. While it is difficult to measure the use of these products in the field; the risk communication principles applied, and the lessons learned will help to create future communication products. Many of these products have now been archived as guidance has evolved and the public health emergency is ending.

Conclusions: These communication products were developed utilizing proven risk communication principles and best practices. They were developed rapidly due to pace of the COVID-19 pandemic, however the lessons learned from healthcare workers interacting with these products can be strategically applied to future communications work in these settings. Healthcare personnel need resources that are easy-to-find on the web, digestible so they can be viewed on the job in between the care of patients or residents, and delivered in multiple mediums (web, multimedia, and print).

Implications for research and/or practice: Practice implications include the importance of developing products in multiple mediums, as provider preferences and education levels vary. In addition, audience self-recognition is key to ensuring messages are received by the appropriate individuals within the outpatient setting. Lastly, partnerships with healthcare professional organizations and other federal agencies (CMS, ACL, etc.) are essential to make communicators aware of challenges in the field.