Risk Communications
Crisis emergency risk communication (CERC) is the application of evidence-based principles to effectively communicate during emergencies. CERC framework is applied in public health in response to health emergencies, like the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage public participation in disease prevention and containment.
Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) applies evidence-based principles to support effective communication during public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of encouraging public participation in disease prevention and containment. Successful implementation of the CERC framework depends in part on reaching populations with histories of social injustice, health disparities, and limited access to health information. These vulnerable and minority populations often experience communication gaps related to socioeconomic disadvantage, low health literacy, immigration status, and limited English proficiency, compounded by language and cultural discordance. Community-engaged research (CEnR) partnerships are uniquely positioned to operationalize CERC frameworks in these contexts by fostering trust and ensuring messages are culturally and linguistically relevant.
RHCP developed, implemented, and evaluated a community-engaged COVID-19 CERC framework that reached thousands of individuals in Rochester and surrounding areas with timely and accurate information on COVID-19 prevention, containment, and vaccination through bidirectional communication led by trusted community communication leaders. This framework has since been adapted by other partnerships across diverse demographic and geographic settings, and RHCP is collaborating with these groups to develop a pandemic communications toolkit. The goal of this work is to synthesize the experiences of communication leaders and partner organizations into an actionable, adaptable community-engaged CERC toolkit, along with a freely available library of culturally tailored pandemic message maps and content. These resources will be made available to health departments, community organizations, and community-engaged partnerships to support effective communication during future pandemics and other public health emergencies.
Funding
Mayo Clinic: Center for Clinical and Translational Science, and Division of Public Health, Infectious Disease and Occupational Medicine
Bidirectional communication between communication leaders and community members within their social networks refined messages, leveraged resources, and advised policy makers to address COVID-19 prevention, testing, and socioeconomic impacts for vulnerable populations in Rochester, Minnesota.
COVID-19 Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication
Racial minorities have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Moreover, vulnerable populations and minorities are more likely to have communication gaps due to socioeconomic disadvantage, low health literacy, immigration status, and limited English proficiency, compounded by language and cultural discordance and mistrust of health institutions.
Racial minorities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, with vulnerable populations facing heightened communication gaps due to socioeconomic disadvantage, low health literacy, immigration status, and limited English proficiency. These challenges are often compounded by language and cultural discordance and mistrust of health institutions, creating barriers to effective disease prevention and containment. To address these gaps during the COVID-19 pandemic, RHCP implemented the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) framework to promote bidirectional communication with vulnerable communities and support their engagement in prevention and response efforts.
Through partnerships between community and academic stakeholders, RHCP developed COVID-19 message maps focused on three core areas: prevention and containment, SARS-CoV-2 testing, and the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. Messages were delivered in six languages by bilingual community communication leaders within their existing social networks, primarily through electronic platforms such as social media, text messaging, and voice calls. These leaders also collected community health and socioeconomic concerns using the same channels, enabling iterative refinement of messaging, resource mobilization to address community needs, and timely guidance to regional decision makers. By leveraging trusted networks and community credibility, this approach demonstrates the effectiveness of community-engaged partnerships in implementing crisis and emergency risk communication for vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Publications
The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Radical and Ethnic Minorities in the United States
Funding
Mayo Clinic: Community Engagement, Center for Clinical and Translational Science, and Center for Health Equity and Community Engagement Research
Let’s Talk about TB
More than half of active tuberculosis (TB) cases in the United States occur in foreign-born individuals; the majority of these cases are attributable to reactivation of latent TB infection (LTBI). Reactivation of LBTI may be prevented with appropriate screening and treatment of those at risk.
More than half of active tuberculosis (TB) cases in the United States occur among foreign-born individuals, most of which result from reactivation of latent TB infection (LTBI), a condition that can be prevented through appropriate screening and treatment. Hawthorne Education Center (HEC) serves up to 2,500 adult learners each year, approximately 85% of whom are foreign-born, with nearly three-quarters originating from countries with a high TB burden. HEC experienced frequent cases of active TB among its learners, leading to health concerns and disruptions to school operations. Previous efforts to address TB through traditional approaches had been ineffective, prompting HEC staff to seek long-term solutions. In 2004, HEC partnered with researchers at Mayo Clinic to address the issue through a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach.
Let’s Talk about TB is a TB prevention and control program at HEC and represented the first CBPR project for RHCP. The community–academic partnership included CBPR orientation, collaborative development of research strategies, and training workshops that built community capacity in focus group facilitation. Focus groups were conducted to explore learners’ perceptions of TB and identify barriers and facilitators to screening and treatment. Based on these findings, HEC staff, learners, and researchers co-developed culturally and linguistically appropriate educational tools, including posters, leaflets, and videos, to address common TB questions and concerns. Innovative educational interventions—such as classroom discussions, interactive learning activities, and demonstrations of TB testing—were implemented annually around World TB Day for three years. Learners were offered on-site TB testing, with those testing positive referred to the local health department for further evaluation and management. TB education and screening continue annually at HEC, supported by a streamlined referral process to the Olmsted County TB Clinic.
Publications
Current Concepts in the Management of Tuberculosis
Funding
National Institutes of Health: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R03 AI82703)
Mayo Clinic: Department of Medicine, and Center for Clinical and Translational Science