RISK

COMMUNICATION
PROF. ERIC P. PALIGAT
Associate Professor III
National Police College
Philippine National Police Academy
Philippine National Police Training Institute
National Forensic Science Training Institute
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Academy
National Fire Training Institute
PNPTI – National Training Center
 Definition
 Risk Communication is the process
of informing people about potential
hazards to their person, property, or
community.
 Scholars define risk communication as

a science-based approach for

communicating effectively in situations
of high stress, high concern or
controversy.
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 According to WHO, risk
communication refers to the real-time
exchange of information, advice and
opinions between experts or officials
and people who face a threat (hazard)
to their survival, health or economic or
social well-being.
 Its ultimate purpose is that everyone at

risk is able to take informed decisions

to mitigate the effects of the threat
(hazard) such as a disease outbreak
and take protective and preventive 3
action.
 Risk communication uses many
communications techniques ranging
from media and social media
communications, mass
communications and community
engagement.
 It requires a sound understanding of

people’s perceptions, concerns and

beliefs as well as their knowledge and
practices.
 It also requires the early identification

and management of rumours, 4

misinformation and other challenges.
 For public health emergencies, risk
communication includes the range of
communication capacities required
through the preparedness, response
and recovery phases of a serious
public health event to encourage
informed decision making, positive
behaviour change and the
maintenance of trust.

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 Background
 Risk communication plays a key role in
helping organizations apply the
concepts of risk management in their
daily operations.
 It is critical to the success of any

organization, especially when it comes

to public relations and customer
retention.
 Effective communication must be a

two-way channel.
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 This means there must be an
audience and a communicator.
 The communicator must tell the

audience about the risks related to a

specific hazard.
 The audience must also provide

feedback so that both parties can

come up with appropriate mitigation
measures.

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 The main purpose of communicating
risks is to inform people about the
potential hazards related to a
particular condition or activity.
 These hazards may be directly linked

to a person, community or property.

 It involves a two-way exchange of

information between the parties likely

to be affected.

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 The communicator should engage all
of them and respond to questions and
concerns.
 Communicators apply practical and

scientific principles to interact with

both parties effectively, especially
during controversial situations.

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 How to Communicate
Risks Effectively
 The first step is to put a particular risk
in context.
 This should include examining the

motives of communicating the risk and

measuring the potential effects.
 The next step should involve

comparing the risk with others

previously recorded.
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 Comparing will enable you to
determine the point beyond which the
effects of the hazard in question will
cause serious or irreversible damages.
 The last step is to discuss broadly the

potential effects of the hazard with the

affected parties and suggest mitigation
measures.

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 The best way of communicating risks
is to inform all the participants and
ensure fairness.
 You should also make sure that the

participants are able to help solve the

communication difficulties that may
arise.
 You should also match your

communication efforts with the type of

risk in question.

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How does risk communication work?
 Risk communication only works when

there is communication based on trust

between those who know (experts),
those in charge (authorities) and those
affected.
 Without trust, people are unlikely to

follow the advice given.

 Listening to and understanding

peoples’ beliefs, concerns and

perceptions is just as important as
providing them with facts and advice. 17
 Explaining honestly what is known and
admitting what is uncertain is
essential.
 The credibility of those giving advice;

their expressions of caring and

empathy; and identifying with the
audience are factors that make risk
communication effective.

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What help can countries get
to improve
their capacity to communicate risk du
ring emergencies?
 Countries report that they have made

progress in risk communication capacity

over recent years.
 However, as health emergencies

become increasingly complex, as

witnessed during the Ebola outbreak in
West Africa and in the pandemic (H1N1)
2009 influenza virus, more help is being
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requested from WHO and partners.
 WHO provides global guidance on
best practices for risk communication
and is supporting countries to build up
capacities through establishing the
right policy, strategy and plans for risk
communication, providing training for
key personnel, engaging and training
journalists on how to report on health
emergencies, and running simulation
exercises to test national systems.

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 In emergencies, WHO provides hands
on support for response by deploying
its Emergency Communications
Network to affected countries and
regions to work hand-in-hand with
national and local authorities.

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 Importance of
Communicating Risks
 Communicating risks enables
managers and the team members to
determine the probability of a risk
materializing and its possible impacts.
 It allows analysts to understand the

difference between risks and hazards

found in a particular area.

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 It also prepares the community to deal
with any short or long-term effects of the
hazards and the risk management
techniques put in place.
 Communicating risks can also help
organizations avoid litigation or fallout with
the public.
 Effective communication of opinion and
information on risks associated with
certain hazards is important for any
organization.
 Communicating risks effectively will help
the organization avoid problems ranging
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from litigation to damage of property and
 8 Examples of
Risk Communication
 Risk Communication is the process of
communicating potential losses and
how they might be prevented.
 This can include warnings, disclosures

and two-way communication aimed at

managing risk.

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 1. Disasters
 A government agency calculates the
risk of an earthquake based on the
frequency of historical earthquakes in
a region.
 They regularly communicate the risks

to the public in a variety of media in

order to encourage preparation such
as earthquake resistant construction.

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 2. Health
 A product that is known to be
unhealthy is required to display a
warning on its label in a particular
country, province or city.

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 3. Environment
 A city warns of forecast poor air quality
and communicates restrictions put in
place to mitigate the situation.

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 4. Safety
 A construction company conducts
mandatory annual safety training for
all employees that include a
breakdown of the most common safety
risks related to different types of
construction sites.
 Training is aimed at creating

awareness of common risks and

communicates actions that can be
taken to reduce risk.
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 5. Financial Risk
 A financial advisor accurately
communicates investing risks to clients
including factors such as volatility,
liquidity risk, concentration risk and the
risk profile of an asset or security.

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 6. Project Risk
 A project manager communicates a
risk management plan to stakeholders.
 All stakeholders are given an

opportunity to identify risks and

provide ideas for reducing risk.
 Risk owners are asked to sign off on

the risk management plan.

 As new risks are identified, the

process repeats.
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 7. Business Risk
 A purchasing manager at a
manufacturing company warns
operations and marketing teams of a
possible shortage of parts due to
supply chain disruptions.

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 8. Moment of Risk
 A telecom company warns its
corporate customers of maintenance
to network infrastructure that may
impact performance or result in
downtime.

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 References
 https://
www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/risk
-communication-frequently-asked-que
stions
 https://

www.epa.gov/risk/risk-communication
 https://

simplicable.com/new/risk-communicati
on
 https://www.bestvalueschools.com/faq/
what-is-risk-communication/ 33
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