This short course gives scientists and practitioners the communication skills that outbreak response and public health rely on but rarely teach: exchanging risk information with the public, engaging communities, and translating a technical result into a decision-maker’s language. It is hands-on, built around rewriting real epidemiologic outputs into clear messages and briefs.

Draft proposal. This is an early sketch of a proposed short course. The course number, dates, fees, and daily schedule are placeholders and will be settled before the course is first offered.

Overview

IDE xxx (proposed) is a non-credit, short intensive course in risk communication and community engagement for infectious disease. Risk communication is one of the core capacities that the International Health Regulations require of every country, yet formal training in it is rarely part of a scientist’s education. Each session pairs a short lecture with a practical exercise so participants leave able to communicate risk, uncertainty, and evidence to the audiences that matter.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

Apply the risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) framework
Segment audiences and design plain-language messages
Communicate uncertainty and probabilistic forecasts honestly
Recognize and respond to misinformation and infodemics
Turn a model result or epidemiologic report into a one-page policy brief
Reach equity-deserving communities with tailored, trustworthy messages

Who should apply

The course is aimed at epidemiologists, modelers, laboratory and public-health staff, response teams, graduate students, and clinicians who need to communicate about infectious-disease risk.

Prerequisites. None. Participants who work with epidemiologic data or models will get the most from the message-translation exercises, but no specific technical background is required.

Format and delivery

Duration. Short course (a few days), intensive.
Mode. Hybrid. Attend in person or join online.
Sessions. Each session pairs a short lecture with a hands-on communication exercise.
Assessment. No formal assessment.
Certificate. Participants who attend receive a certificate of attendance.
Equipment. Participants bring their own laptops. Any materials are sent before the course begins.

Course content and topics

Risk communication as a core public-health function
The RCCE framework and the communication continuum
Audience segmentation and reaching equity-deserving groups
Plain-language message design and avoiding jargon
Communicating uncertainty and forecasts
Trust, misinformation, and infodemic management
Writing a policy brief from a model result

Session timetable

Session	Lecture	Exercise
1	Risk communication and the RCCE framework	Diagnose a real-world message
2	Audiences, segmentation, and plain language	Rewrite a jargon-heavy alert
3	Communicating uncertainty and forecasts	Translate an $R_t$ estimate for a lay audience
4	Misinformation and trust	Draft a rapid response to a rumor
5	From model to policy brief	Turn a forecast into a one-page brief

Site resources

The course draws on material already published on this site. Participants can read ahead or review afterward.

See Programs for how this short course fits alongside the degree tracks and other offerings.

Fees and how to apply

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AI and academic integrity

Large language models such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can support your learning, and you are welcome to use them. If you do, cite the tools you used and describe how you used them. These tools do not replace your own understanding of the material, and you remain responsible for the accuracy of your work and any citations. Using them without attribution is plagiarism.

Proposal change notice

This is a draft proposal. Its content, structure, dates, and fees are subject to change before the course is offered.