Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34266403›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2021

Health authorities' health risk communication with the public during pandemics: a rapid scoping review.

Siv Hilde Berg, Jane K O'Hara, Marie Therese Shortt, Henriette Thune, Kolbjørn Kallesten Brønnick, Daniel Adrian Lungu, Jo Røislien, Siri Wiig

Open access · goldAbstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
53citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
40.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

53 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 131 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Key factors for promoting protective behaviours in future pandemics: an umbrella review.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Siv Hilde BergCentre for Resilience in Healthcare, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger, Kjell Arholmsgate 43, 4021, Stavanger, Norway. Siv.h.berg@uis.no.
Jane K O'HaraFaculty of Medicine & Health, School of Healthcare, University of Leeds, Leeds, England.
Marie Therese ShorttCentre for Resilience in Healthcare, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger, Kjell Arholmsgate 43, 4021, Stavanger, Norway.
Henriette ThuneCentre for Resilience in Healthcare, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger, Kjell Arholmsgate 43, 4021, Stavanger, Norway.
Kolbjørn Kallesten BrønnickCentre for Resilience in Healthcare, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger, Kjell Arholmsgate 43, 4021, Stavanger, Norway.
Daniel Adrian LunguCentre for Resilience in Healthcare, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger, Kjell Arholmsgate 43, 4021, Stavanger, Norway.
Jo RøislienCentre for Resilience in Healthcare, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger, Kjell Arholmsgate 43, 4021, Stavanger, Norway.
Siri WiigCentre for Resilience in Healthcare, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger, Kjell Arholmsgate 43, 4021, Stavanger, Norway.
University of Stavanger · NOStavanger University Hospital · NOUniversity of Leeds · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundResponses from the H1N1 swine flu pandemic and the recent COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic provide an opportunity for insight into the role of health authorities' ways of communicating health risk information to the public. We aimed to synthesise the existing evidence regarding different modes of communication used by health authorities in health risk communication with the public during a pandemic.

methodsWe conducted a rapid scoping review. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for publications in English from January 2009 through October 2020, covering both the full H1N1 pandemic and the response phase during the COVID-19 pandemic. The search resulted in 1440 records, of which 48 studies met our eligibility criteria.

resultsThe present review identified studies across a broad interdisciplinary field of health risk communication. The majority focused on the H1N1 pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic. A content analysis of the studies identified three categories for modes of communication: i) communication channels, ii) source credibility and iii) how the message is communicated. The identified studies on social media focused mainly on content and engagement, while studies on the effect of the use of social media and self-protective behaviour were lacking. Studies on the modes of communication that take the diversity of receivers in the field into account are lacking. A limited number of studies of health authorities' use of graphic and audio-visual means were identified, yet these did not consider/evaluate creative communication choices.

conclusionExperimental studies that investigate the effect of health authorities' videos and messages on social media platforms and self-protective behaviour are needed. More studies are needed across the fields of health risk communication and media studies, including visual communication, web design, video and digital marketing, at a time when online digital communication is central to reaching the public.

Indexed as

COVID-19Health CommunicationInfluenza A Virus, H1N1 SubtypeSocial MediaAnimalsCommunicationHumansPandemicsPublic HealthSARS-CoV-2SwineCOVID-19H1N1Health communicationMedia communicationPandemicRisk communication

Identifiers

PMID34266403
PMCPMC8280576
OpenAlexW3179944068

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.