# Building Trust and Resilience: Bhutan's Approach to Risk Communication During the COVID‐19 Pandemic

## TL;DR

This paper explores how Bhutan used risk communication during the pandemic to build trust and resilience, alongside other strategies like testing and quarantine.

## Contribution

The paper highlights Bhutan's unique insights and proposes new research and policy directions for effective risk communication.

## Key findings

- Risk communication was pivotal in Bhutan's pandemic response alongside surveillance and testing.
- The authors identified diverse approaches to managing public information during the pandemic.
- The paper suggests reforms for policy and systems to improve future risk communication.

## Abstract

Throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic, effective risk communication emerged as pivotal in fostering positive behavioral changes that aligned with the evolving evidence and stages of the pandemic. It stood alongside key strategies like enhanced surveillance, extensive testing, stringent quarantine, and strategic case management in Bhutan's response. Over the last 3 years of the pandemic, we have gained profound insights into risk communication's impact. This article aims to illuminate diverse approaches in managing public information during the pandemic. The authors also suggest potential research agendas and policy and system‐level reforms in the realm of risk communication.