Risk communication in Nepal: a scoping review of trends, gaps and future directions

Nepal is among the most disaster-prone countries in the world, yet risk communication remains fragmented and largely non-proactive. To explore how risk communication developed over time and across various hazards, we conducted a scoping review of academic literature. The analysis covers the past 4 decades and includes floods, glacial lake outburst floods, earthquakes, climate change effects, landslides, COVID-19 and multi-hazard. We used structured analytical framework based on the “5 Ws and H” (who, what, when, where, why, how), to identify key trends, gaps and future directions through the analysis of 38 peer-reviewed publications carefully selected from the academic literature indexed in Web of Science and Google Scholar. Findings show that both two-way and one-way communication models are used primarily to disseminate information and raise awareness among citizens, government agencies, and students. Previous disaster events often serve as reference points. Standard methods, such as face-to-face interactions, leaflets and printed materials remain predominant, with television and radio as the main sources of risk-related information. In contrast, social media plays a relatively minor role. Risk communication efforts mainly focus on informing rather than promoting proactive behaviors during preparedness phases. Simulation exercises and action-oriented guidance are rarely used and the most vulnerable groups, such as women, children and persons with disabilities, are underrepresented. Although mobile phone and internet access is widespread, digital tools remain underutilized. Notably, none of the reviewed publications applied or tested established risk communication theories, revealing a general lack of academic research in this field in Nepal. Overall, the current scoping review offers a novel synthesis of a highly fragmented evidence base and provides a theoretical contribution by demonstrating that existing studies do not explicitly apply established risk-communication frameworks. It also shows how the 5Ws + H approach can be adapted to a multi-hazard, low-income context, thereby offering a structured lens for future research. Our findings support policy recommendations to institutionalize government-led communication, promote drills-based learning and develop tailored tools for diverse audiences in disaster-prone areas.