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Orientador(es)
Resumo(s)
Preparing future communication professionals for disasters and emergencies is a pressing challenge for Public Relations education. Unlike Crisis Communication which focuses on organisational response and reputational threat, Risk Communication within Public Relations emphasises prevention, preparedness and behaviour change. In disaster contexts, communication is not centred on organisational image but on reducing harm, sustaining public trust and protecting lives (L’Etang, 2013; Diers-Lawson & Qureshi, 2021). Recent emergencies, including pandemics, climate-related hazards and complex humanitarian crises, show that risk communication failures significantly exacerbate vulnerability and undermine response effectiveness. Evidence from global health emergencies shows that communication constitutes an intervention in its own right, with direct consequences on mitigating harm and saving lives (Diers-Lawson & Qureshi, 2021). The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Risk Communication, Community Engagement and Infodemic Management (RCCE-IM) framework is a core pillar of preparedness and response. It is one of the eight core capacities under the International Health Regulations (2024) which all States commit to develop and implement (WHO, 2005a). RCCE-IM serves as a vital communication tool, meditating between experts, authorities, media and communities while driving social and behaviour change. Trust emerges as the central organising principle, reinforcing the idea that “the overriding goal for outbreak communications is to communicate with the public in ways that build, maintain or restore trust” (WHO, 2005b). Despite its importance, RCCE-IM is largely absent from PR and Communication curricula, leaving future professionals unprepared for their roles in multidisciplinary emergencies. This paper addresses this gap through a pilot elective course on RCCE-IM in a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations and Corporate Communication at a Higher Education Institution in Portugal. Launching in the second semester of the 2025/2026 academic year, the course integrates WHO RCCE-IM principles and tools into PR education oriented toward disasters and health emergencies. This is the first such course in a communications faculty with plans to additionally develop an aligned curriculum for public health and medical students in Ukraine. To assess the impact of integrating RCCE-IM into PR education, this study adopts the WHO Capability Mapping tool (CapMap) as its primary evaluation framework. CapMap is a capability-based self-assessment instrument developed by the WHO Regional Office for Europe to support professionals working in RCCE-IM to identify strengths and areas for development across six interdependent subject areas: evidence generation, risk communication, community engagement, infodemic management, capacity-building and operational management (Gregory & Salvi, 2025). In this pilot course, students complete the CapMap assessment at the beginning and at the end of the semester. Comparative analysis of pre- and post-course self-assessments enables an examination of perceived capability development across RCCE-IM domains, offering an initial indication of the course’s contribution to strengthen these competences. The implementation of this pilot project will allow teams to assess the advantages and areas for improvement in applying this framework in the context of higher education institutions. Based on the conclusions presented, the aim is to extend this methodology to other higher education institutions, increasing the number of communication professionals trained and prepared to act in coordination with the WHO in disaster and emergencies. In conclusion, integrating RCCE-IM into Public Relations education intends to contribute to a necessary reconfiguration of professional training, positioning this framework as both an essential public health intervention and a core communication competence for the future of disaster and emergency communication.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Risk communication Community Engagement Infodemic Management Public Relations Education
Contexto Educativo
Citação
• Nunes, T., Raposo, A., Claxton, N. (2026). “Preparing future communication professionals for disasters and emergencies: Integrating WHO RCCE-IM into Public Relations education” [Comunicação Oral]. Bledcom - 33rd International Public Relations Research Symposium, Bled, Eslovénia, Junho de 2026.
Editora
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences