Crisis and emergency risk communication: Past, present, and future

The Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) framework is an integrated conceptual, training and application approach to crisis, risk, and emergency response communication. CERC is applicable for both practitioners and professionals as it was conceptualized using public health concepts, "lessons learned" from practice, and empirical research. More specifically, CERC posits a five-stage developmental model and a conceptual framework for connecting crisis, risk, and emergency response communication. Since its conception the framework has been employed in diverse contexts, yielding a variety of findings and implications. After reviewing CERC's history and main components, this chapter reviews extant literature on CERC. Based on extant literature and applied knowledge, CERC's strengths and weaknesses are discussed. Subsequently, directions for future inquiry and development are proposed.