Improved Risk Communication During Infectious Disease Crises

As cases of the Ebola disease emerge in Europe, the crisis is gaining increasing levels of media coverage. Certain types of coverage can foster fear and stigmatisation which leads to harmful consequences for the individuals, communities and countries involved. Therefore communication strategies that maximise opportunities and minimise risks are vital. That's why the TELL ME (Transparent communication in Epidemics: Learning Lessons from experience, delivering effective Messages, providing Evidence) project is working to develop models for improved risk communication during infectious disease crises.

In the case of Ebola, the stigma of being perceived to be connected with the outbreak in the affected countries is intense and may make individuals hesitant to come forward with suspected symptoms. It may also impact the larger African community in Europe, including those who may have been established here for many years. The TELL ME team is mindful that effective communication can make a crucial difference in this situation.

TELL ME is drawing on a range of disciplines (from public health to law and ethics) to develop original communication strategies regarding complicated messages as well as advice based on uncertainties. The aim is to develop a way of communicating that influences behaviours, reduces the spread of disease and avoids panic. The team is particularly keen to explore the huge potential of the information society in terms of evidence-based and participatory communication.

Stigmatisation as a result of poor communication affects not only individuals and families but entire countries. Paul Quinn of the TELL ME project notes the harmful consequences that he is seeing as a result of stigmatisation during this Ebola outbreak. He says: "This sense of fear and stigma also affects the way in which foreigners are willing to deal with the countries in question. European airlines have for instance had to cancel flights to affected countries, often under pressure from the union representation of their employees who fear a risk of contamination. This has created not only economic problems for the countries involved but also major logistical headaches for international public health authorities attempting to manage an emergency public health response."

The consequences, he continues, go beyond health: "The effects that such events are able to create demonstrate that they carry serious risks not only in terms of human health and economic costs, but also in terms of serious social harms that can be felt both at the epicentre of the outbreak and beyond."

Naturally, concerns and fear on disease outbreaks are aired extensively on social media channels. As a TELL ME press release notes, "Social media are a fertile ground for [feelings of concern and fears], as well as for the circulation of information, be they correct, distorted or totally wrong." A TELL ME analysis report on the Ebola crisis which focused on Twitter over seven days in September showed that 632 712 tweets had been published and 17 023 hashtags using #ebola had been used.

The Ebola situation is pertinent for the research questions that TELL ME is exploring, in particular: "What are the most appropriate communication methods to deal with complexity, uncertainty, ignorance, information asymmetries, overwhelming information, biased information, misinformation and malicious information?"

The project will come to an end at the beginning of 2015. Two of the main deliverables will be an integrated, evidence based, communication work package (TELL ME Communication Kit) for outbreak communication and a prototype of a computational method for simulating the actions and interactions of autonomous decision-making entities within a virtual environment during an epidemic outbreak.

For further information, please visit:
http://www.tellmeproject.eu

Most Popular Now

Integrating Care Records is Good. Using …

Opinion Article by Dr Paul Deffley, Chief Medical Officer, Alcidion. A single patient record already exists in the NHS. Or at least, that’s a perception shared by many. A survey of...

Should AI Chatbots Replace Your Therapis…

The new study exposes the dangerous flaws in using artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for mental health support. For the first time, the researchers evaluated these AI systems against clinical standards...

AI could Help Pathologists Match Cancer …

A new study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and collaborators, suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) could significantly improve how...

AI Detects Early Signs of Osteoporosis f…

Investigators have developed an artificial intelligence-assisted diagnostic system that can estimate bone mineral density in both the lumbar spine and the femur of the upper leg, based on X-ray images...

AI Model Converts Hospital Records into …

UCLA researchers have developed an AI system that turns fragmented electronic health records (EHR) normally in tables into readable narratives, allowing artificial intelligence to make sense of complex patient histories...

AI Sharpens Pathologists' Interpret…

Pathologists' examinations of tissue samples from skin cancer tumours improved when they were assisted by an AI tool. The assessments became more consistent and patients' prognoses were described more accurately...

AI Tool Detects Surgical Site Infections…

A team of Mayo Clinic researchers has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can detect surgical site infections (SSIs) with high accuracy from patient-submitted postoperative wound photos, potentially transforming...

Forging a Novel Therapeutic Path for Pat…

Rett syndrome is a devastating rare genetic childhood disorder primarily affecting girls. Merely 1 out of 10,000 girls are born with it and much fewer boys. It is caused by...

Mayo Clinic's AI Tool Identifies 9 …

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that helps clinicians identify brain activity patterns linked to nine types of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, using a single...

AI Detects Fatty Liver Disease with Ches…

Fatty liver disease, caused by the accumulation of fat in the liver, is estimated to affect one in four people worldwide. If left untreated, it can lead to serious complications...

Meet Your Digital Twin

Before an important meeting or when a big decision needs to be made, we often mentally run through various scenarios before settling on the best course of action. But when...

NHS National Rehabilitation Centre to De…

The new NHS National Rehabilitation Centre will deploy technology to help patients to maintain their independence as they recover from life-changing injuries and illnesses and regain quality of life. Airwave Healthcare...