Community Mitigation

Building Trust Before a Crisis

Trust is built over time, and communities may be more likely to follow guidance from agencies they have an established relationship with. A lack of trust can lead to resistance to evidence-based public health measures such as vaccination, quarantine, or protective behaviors.

What Health Agencies Can Do:

• Engage year-round: Build relationships with community organizations, faith-based groups, and local influencers before a crisis occurs.
• Host listening-sessions: Conduct forums where community members can express concerns about public health policies and interventions.
• Amplify trusted voices: Partner with community leaders to co-create messaging that resonates with their networks.

Reaching Multilingual Communities

Public health emergencies affect all communities, yet language barriers, cultural differences, and limited access to traditional media can prevent critical health information from reaching these populations. Failure to provide accessible messaging can contribute to disparities in health outcomes.

What Health Agencies Can Do:

• Develop multilingual resources: Ensure public health messaging is translated into commonly spoken languages in the community.
• Leverage ethnic media and social networks: Work with radio stations, newspapers, and digital platforms that serve specific language groups.
• Train bilingual community health workers: Equip trusted messengers to deliver public health information in a culturally relevant way.
   

Fostering Empowerment through Action

By communicating data to focus on clear, actionable steps individuals can take to support an evidence-based response to infectious disease threats, health departments can help make individuals feel in control of their safety.  For example, CDC shares Community Mitigation Guidelines to Prevent Pandemic Influenza, with personal nonpharmaceutical interventions including voluntary isolation, hand hygiene, and covering coughs and sneezes. Consistent focus on actionable guidance is key in helping people mitigate risk while maintaining a sense of agency.

Managing Misinformation and Evolving Guidance

During public health crises, misinformation can spread faster than facts. As guidance evolves based on new evidence, agencies must communicate updates effectively to prevent confusion and distrust.

What Health Agencies Can Do:

• Be transparent about uncertainty: Acknowledge that scientific recommendations may change as new information becomes available.
• Monitor social media and respond quickly: Use real-time tracking tools to identify and correct misinformation.
• Use plain language and visuals: Break down complex information into easily digestible formats like infographics and short videos.
   

Choosing the Right Channels and Messengers

Information is best received when it comes from trusted sources — and those sources can vary significantly across communities. Health departments can strengthen their communication efforts by partnering with individuals and organizations that are already embedded in and trusted by the target audience.

For example:

• In rural communities, local pharmacists, local news radio, or school representatives (such as school nurses, the school board, or parent teacher associations) may have significant influence. Communication may look like community forums hosted by religious leaders, presentations to community services groups (e.g., Jaycees, Rotary Club, etc.), or tabling at county fairs, community celebrations, and more. Interested in learning more? Check out:
  • Emergency Preparedness and Response for Infectious Disease Outbreaks | The Rural Health Information Hub
  • Strategies to Improve Communication and Messaging in Rural Populations: Guidance for Supporting Vaccination | CDC Foundation (PDF download).
  • Peer-reviewed articles
    • Lessons learned: enhancing rural risk communication for future health crises through the PHERCC framework
    • COVID-19 Risk and Crisis Communication Challenges and Opportunities: Qualitative Insights from Rural Wastewater Surveillance Partners
    • Enhancing Rural Health Dialogue: The Crucial Role of Reflective Practice in Family Physician Involvement

• In urban settings, businesses (such as barbershops and nail salons), neighborhood associations, and mutual aid networks may offer direct access to community members. This may include advertisement on billboards or mass transit centers, presentations to community service groups, including fraternities and sororities, or tabling at festivals.  The resources below share additional considerations for communicating about data, surveillance, and forecasting in urban settings.
  • Peer-reviewed articles
    • The challenges of emerging illness in urban environments: An overview
    • A research agenda for urban health security
    • Urban Pandemic Preparedness Peer-Reviewed Literature | George Washington University

• For youth and young adults, social media platforms, paired with influencers who promote science-based content, can increase message visibility and relevance. Health departments can also co-create content with these messengers to ensure cultural and linguistic relevance.  Materials might include:
  • Radio public services announcements recorded in local dialects or delivered by known community members.
  • Instagram reels with side-by-side data visualizations and voiceovers.
  • Flyers distributed in a variety of high traffic locations (e.g., schools, colleges, bars, restaurants, community service organizations, public transit).

Choosing the right channel is not just about broadcasting — it's about fostering dialogue and trust. Additional resources include:

• Communication Toolkit | Adolescent and School Health | CDC
• Managing Communicable Disease in Schools | Michigan Departments of Education and Health and Human Services
• Talking with Children During Infectious Disease Outbreaks | Anthem