The World Health Organization (WHO) is offering a free, online, self-guided course on infodemic management to help people learn about key risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) principles and understand how they can be used during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The course is estimated to require a total of two hours to complete. Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate of achievement.
The course is comprised of three modules and covers the following topics:
- The definition of risk communication and community engagement (RCCE)
- Key challenges for RCCE during public health emergencies
- Tactics for managing uncertainty during public health emergencies
- Mechanisms to use for “listening” and engaging stakeholders and communities
- Risk perception as it relates to health emergencies
- The cognitive and emotional/contextual characteristics of health threats
- Characteristics of health threats can be used in messaging to influence risk perceptions
- The limits of risk perception and fear appeals to sustain behavior change over extended periods
- Sustaining new behaviors during COVID-19.
The course is available on an ongoing basis, in English only.
To learn more about the course, and to enroll, go to: https://openwho.org/courses/RCCE-COVID-19 [1]