Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Oct;99 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):S324-32.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.162537.

Effective health risk communication about pandemic influenza for vulnerable populations

Elaine Vaughan  1 , Timothy Tinker
Affiliations

Effective health risk communication about pandemic influenza for vulnerable populations

Elaine Vaughan et al. Am J Public Health. 2009 Oct.

Abstract

The consequences of pandemic influenza for vulnerable populations will depend partly on the effectiveness of health risk communications. Strategic planning should fully consider how life circumstances, cultural values, and perspectives on risk influence behavior during a pandemic. We summarize recent scientific evidence on communication challenges and examine how sociocultural, economic, psychological, and health factors can jeopardize or facilitate public health interventions that require a cooperative public. If ignored, current communication gaps for vulnerable populations could result in unequal protection across society during an influenza pandemic. We offer insights on communication preparedness gleaned from scientific studies and the deliberations of public health experts at a meeting convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 1 and 2, 2008.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. At-risk populations and pandemic influenza: planning guidance for state, territorial, tribal, and local health departments. Available at: http://www.astho.org/index.php?template=at_risk_population_project.html. Accessed October 4, 2008.
    1. US Department of Health and Human Services. HHS pandemic influenza plan: supplement 10: public health communications. Available at: http://www.hhs.gov/pandemicflu/plan/sup10.html. Accessed October 5, 2008.
    1. Holmes BJ. Communicating about emerging infectious disease: the importance of research. Health Risk Soc. 2008;10:349–360.
    1. Blendon RJ, Koonin LM, Benson JM, et al. Public response to community mitigation measures for pandemic influenza. Emerg Infect Dis. 2008;14:778–786. - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Medical Association, Ethical Force Program. Improving communication—improving care: how health care organizations can insure effective, patient-centered communication with people from diverse populations. Available at: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/369/ef_imp_comm.pdf. Accessed October 4, 2008.

MeSH terms