One Health Risk Communication and Community Engagement Training for Public Health and Media Practitioners: Facilitator's Training Manual

"Risk communication aims to enable people at risk to make informed and best possible decisions to mitigate the risks to their health and well-being."

This Facilitator's Training Manual and accompanying materials are designed to guide facilitators in Nigeria in conducting a 4-day training with public health and media practitioners to strengthen their capacity to respond to outbreaks of priority zoonotic diseases (PZDs). The guide forms part of Breakthrough ACTION-Nigeria's risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) interventions that support the Government of Nigeria in preventing, detecting, and responding to public health emergencies. The training is specifically intended for public health practitioners working in human, animal, or environment health sectors and media practitioners working in diverse media channels (e.g., print, television, and national and community radio media) and local social media influencers. The modules are tailored for each audience and for collaborative learning.

As explained in the guide, zoonotic diseases are diseases that are initially spread between animals and people and then potentially from person to person. Most known human infectious diseases and about three out of every four new diseases originate from animals. They include diseases such as Ebola, COVID-19, brucellosis, rabies, and yellow fever. A PZD is one identified as the greatest threat to a country or region due to a prior outbreak, endemic status, or risk factors that may facilitate the spread from animals to humans (e.g., population growth and movement, large and crowded cities, changes in land use, increased global travel, and climate change).

The guide supports the One Health approach, which recognises that human, animal, and environmental health are intertwined and interdependent and that multisectoral and transdisciplinary collaboration is required to achieve optimal health outcomes for people, animals, plants, and the shared environment. As stated in the guide, "Collaboration between One Health stakeholders, public health authorities, and the media is critical to ensure accurate and lifesaving information reaches at-risk communities. Effective emergency and risk communication can help stem an infectious disease outbreak by influencing the personal and social behaviours that aid transmission. Effective community engagement can prevent an outbreak by informing people in high-risk areas about the nature of the disease and the steps they can take to protect themselves and their families. Without this collaboration, ineffective emergency and risk communication can have disastrous effects in an epidemic, and poorly executed communication can create unnecessary fear and panic, fuelling the spread of misinformation, rumours, and conspiracy theories that drive infected people away from health facilities."

Effective RCCE through the One Health approach and closer collaboration between public health officials and the media are integral to the larger process of information exchange in an outbreak situation. This training manual was therefore designed to support training that creates a better understanding and relationships between public health and media practitioners in Nigeria so that they can work together effectively during a public health crisis and communicate with the public using focused and consistent messages with a common goal.

The goals of the training include:

• improving public uptake of protective health behaviours for PZDs, including reporting instances of high-risk disease outbreaks and contributing to early detection of potential emergencies;
• increasing efficiency and minimising contradictory or false information during responses to public health emergencies or events and in overall awareness of PZD prevention; and
• providing timely and accurate health advice to address concerns during public health emergencies or events.

Specific objectives of the training are to:

• review PZDs in Nigeria and their relationship to public health emergency preparedness and response;
• review available risk communication and One Health resources in Nigeria to promote awareness, engage communities, and support a public health emergency response;
• learn and practice skills for effective communication with the public regarding risk and community engagement;
• strengthen effective collaboration between public health practitioners and the media for improved coordination during public health emergencies or events;
• improve confidence and ability to effectively respond to the public's needs and concerns regarding PZDs and health emergencies; and
• minimise conflicting information, rumours, and misinformation.

The Facilitator's Training Manual is divided into four modules. Each module lists the learning objectives and methods for the module sessions, which include activities and discussions addressing specific learning content. Notes for the facilitator are outlined at the beginning of each module section.

• Module 1: Overview of One Health and Priority Zoonotic Diseases
• Module 2: Communicating for Behaviour Change
• Module 3: Professional Breakout Session
• Module 4: Enhancing Coordination

Modules 1 and 2 are designed to be delivered during plenary sessions that include both public health practitioners and media practitioners. For Module 3, participants will separate into breakout groups based on profession, and different trainers will address content specific to their roles. The two groups will then reconvene for Module 4.

The Annexes provide the following supporting materials:

• Annex 1: Tools for Facilitators (checklists)
• Annex 2: Materials for Distribution to Participants
• Annex 3: Presentation Slides