Effective communication strategies and practices for dengue and other arboviral diseases: Systematic review

Abstract

Health communication has proven to play a crucial role in addressing diseases such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya, for which there are no definitive or easily accessible vaccines. In this context, this discipline becomes a fundamental tool to promote the change behavior and promote preventive practices that reduce the transmission of these diseases. By not having a definitive medical solution, accurate and timely information, effectively disseminated through educational campaigns, media and communication channels public health, can significantly influence individual and community actions to control the spread of these mosquito-borne viruses. The accumulated research around the threat of the aforementioned arboviral diseases brings together a series of recommendations around specific communication activities, such as disseminating timely and accurate information that integrates public health concerns and the needs of information of the population, especially vulnerable groups such as women of childbearing age, pregnant women and health workers. Furthermore, his proposal involves continuing with the initiatives to encourage behavioral changes, as well as social mobilization and participation community, with a view to controlling the vector and eliminating its breeding sites, while keeping the public informed about the risks of infection, ongoing public health processes and investigations in development. This work proposes to adopt a unified and coherent government approach to communication strategic and operational, involving partners and allies from the non-governmental sector. This involves defining and implement a system that guarantees the coherence of messages between the national government and the local health authorities, as well as developing content guides aimed at obtaining messages unified and define protocols for the release of public information in emergency situations health, such as the spread of dengue and other diseases caused by arboviruses. In summary, we are looking for comprehensive, coordinated and evidence-based communication to effectively confront the emergency of public health represented by arboviral diseases.