Strengthening the relationship between community resilience and health emergency communications: Systematic review and model development

Abstract

Background Community resilience and health emergency communication are both crucial in promoting communities’ ability to endure crisis and emergencies. Yet, a notable gap in theory and evidence exists on the relationship between them. Aim The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between community resilience and health emergency communication and to identify strategies and interventions to strengthen their usefulness to each other. Based on the results, a secondary aim was to develop a model of community resilience for communications in health emergencies. Method A systematic literature review of evidence using electronic databases (Web of Science, Social Science Citation Index, PubMed/MEDLINE). Key search terms and inclusion/exclusion criteria were developed from the literature and the knowledge of the multidisciplinary team. Quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE system (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations). Inductive thematic analysis generated key themes. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were applied to present the findings. Results The searches identified 300 articles, of which 86 met the inclusion criteria. Two main themes of the literature are (i) The relationship between emergency communication and community resilience: including building trust and collaboration within communities, identifying resources and their distribution, tailoring communication strategies, considering inclusion and equity, and community engagement and feedback, (ii) Strategies and interventions (illustrated by 16 case studies) identified were, facilitating community structures as channels for communication, respecting personal and private boundaries in health communication, targeting outreach for effective crisis communication, building resilience through communication initiatives, and demonstrating commitment to equity and inclusion in communications. Conclusion There is a small, yet valuable, body of evidence to demonstrate synergies and interactions in the relationship between community resilience and health emergency communications. The integrated model of community resilience and communications for health emergencies developed provides directions to explore for future research. Registration : CABI Digital Library searchRxiv: https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/searchRxiv.2024.00477