Health promotion, health education, and risk communication for Zika virus disease

Abstract There are two opportunities where health promotion and education program can be used in the prevention and control of Zika virus disease. These happen during a noncrisis/nonemergency situation or during a crisissituation. The first opportunity is during a noncrisis situation where adequate resources such as time, information, and human workforce are available for a thorough health promotion planning and decision-making. During this time, the PRECEDE-PROCEED Framework can be used to plan a health promotion and education program for Zika virus disease. It has eight phases which begin with an assessment phase, followed by implementation, monitoring and evaluation phases. The assessment phase includes social, epidemiological, educational and ecological, administrative and policy assessment, and intervention alignment. This is followed by design implementation and evaluation (process, impact, and outcome). However, during a crisis situation, where resources needed for decision-making are scarce or incomplete, a crisis or risk communication, a specialized form of health promotion, is used. Basic principles of risk communication include analysis of audience, dynamic listening, proactive and prompt communication, coordination, consideration of local context, transparency, and importance of monitoring and evaluation.