This perspective suggests integrating risk communication and community engagement to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

By studying the communication in China during the COVID-19 outbreak, scholars provide suggestions for improving emergency responses. These include improvements to internal governmental risk communication systems, enhancing coordination between internal and partner governmental emergency management, and promoting public communication in response to societal concerns. The authors also stress the necessity of community engagement to prevent and control the outbreak. It is important that communication addresses uncertainty, counters misinformation effectively, and reflects evidence-based decision-making practices.