"Keep it short and sweet": Improving risk communication to family physicians during public health crises.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To identify recommendations from family physicians in Canada on how public health agencies and professional organizations might improve future crisis and emergency risk communications. DESIGN: Qualitative content analysis. SETTING: Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Sixteen family physicians who have experienced a public health crisis. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 16 family physicians practising in various regions across Canada who had experienced what they defined as a public health crisis. These events included environmental crises, like forest fires and hurricanes, and infectious disease crises, like the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and H1N1 outbreaks. Interview transcripts were coded using an inductive qualitative content analysis method, specifically focusing on recommendations from participants on how to improve risk communication to family physicians in the event of a future public health crisis. MAIN FINDINGS: Based on their personal experiences, participants had many explicit recommendations on how to improve risk communication strategies in the event of a future public health crisis. These included having a single trusted source of information; having timely and succinct communication; having consideration for learners; ensuring access to information for all physicians; improving public health and family medicine collaboration; having crisis information for patients; and creating communication infrastructure before a crisis occurs. CONCLUSION: This research provides thoughtful and varied considerations and advice from practising family physicians on how to improve risk communication from public health agencies and professional organizations to this group in the event of a public health crisis. With improved communications between these bodies and family physicians, practitioners will be better informed and prepared to provide the best possible care to their patient populations during such events.

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