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Risk communication in mass gatherings: a scoping review[1]

Delgado B, Huang AS, Luo A, Chaturvedi I, Hsu EB · 2026 · Int J Emerg Med

Summary

Scoping review (MEDLINE/Embase/Scopus/CINAHL/PsycINFO, 1990-2024; 29 articles) of risk perception and risk communication at mass gatherings, from the Johns Hopkins group (senior author Hsu). Risk-perception drivers identified: prior risk education, nature of the crowd, overcrowding, and event/venue characteristics. Communication-strategy themes: communications flow, timing and content of messaging, and modality mix (digital, physical, in-person). Headline gap: the EFFECTIVENESS of the various risk-communication strategies in use has rarely been evaluated.

So what

The comms-ics domain's missing review: it organizes the scattered literature on how to tell a crowd about risk — before and during an event — and lands on the same verdict as the crowd-management literature (strategies ubiquitous, effectiveness untested). For MGMI it connects the Purple Guide communications doctrine (codewords, minimise-alarm vs SG03 tension, M/ETHANE flow) to an academic frame, and its Hsu lineage ties it to the stampede epidemiology cluster - risk communication IS a crush countermeasure when done early. Free full text via PMC.

Key findings

  • 29-article scoping review, 1990-2024, five databases
  • Risk perception driven by education, crowd nature, overcrowding, venue characteristics
  • Strategy themes: communications flow, message timing/content, modality mix
  • Effectiveness of risk-communication strategies largely unevaluated - the field-wide gap
  • Hopkins/Hsu group - links to the stampede epidemiology lineage

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