if i had all day to cut a large tree, i would spend most of the day sharpening my axe

TM

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

PlanningPrinciples: OC 2

Marsha L. Vanderford PhD

Director, Emergency Communication SystemCenters for Disease Control and Prevention

[email protected]

PlanningPrinciples: OC 2

Marsha L. Vanderford PhD

Director, Emergency Communication SystemCenters for Disease Control and Prevention

[email protected]

If I had all day to cut a large tree,

I would spend most of the

day sharpening my axe. Abraham Lincoln

Source: The Chicago Historical Society

The Importance of Planning

Case StudyAnthrax Outbreak 2001

Case StudyAnthrax Outbreak 2001

Caused by Bacillus anthracis Skin infection Inhalation infection Digestive infection

Autumn 2001

U.S. experiencedmultiple cases ofintentional Inhalational anthrax

Anthrax Cases 2001Anthrax Cases 2001

5 letters 22 cases 5 deaths

Florida

WashingtonDC

New York City

This is an official CDC HEALTH UPDATE

This is an official CDC HEALTH UPDATE

Distributed via Health Alert Network Saturday, October 27, 2001, 21:30 EDT (9:30 PM EDT)CDCHAN-00048-2001-10-27-UPD-N

CDC Statement Regarding Postal and Other Mailroom Facilities in the Metropolitan Washington DC Area

Who should receive medications? When? Where? How much? How long? What medications?

Prophylactic Antibiotics Prophylactic Antibiotics

Ciproflaxin – Congressional Staff– Media Celebrities – Brand name antibiotic

Doxycyline– Postal Workers– Generic Drug

Discussion QuestionsDiscussion Questions

What happened?

What should have happened?

What OC 1 Principle(s) were violated?

Trust?

Transparency?

Early Announcement?

Understanding Audience?

Planning ahead?

OC 1 Best PracticesWhich Were Violated in Anthrax Case?


Trust

Between health authorities and the public– Compassion/empathy/concern– Expertise (includes consistency) – Honesty (Transparency) – Power– Identification

What can be done before an outbreak occurs to develop and maintain the public’s trust during an emergency?

CDC Communications Leadership Team

Information Management Team (IMT)

Web Team (WT)

Communication Monitoring and Research Team

(CMRT)

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Department of Health and Human Services

Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs

Hotline Team (HT)

Health Education

Team (HET)

Public Health Communications

Team (PHCT)

Media Team (MT)

Clinicians Communications

Team (CCT)

Federal Governmental

Communications Team (FGCT)

Sept. 2003

Director’s Emergency Operations Center

(DEOC)

Emergency Communication

Coordination Center (EC3)



Transparency– Easily understood– Includes communicating

What is known What is not known What is being done to answer questions

– Disclosing bases of decision-making – Explaining limits of disclosure

What can be done before an emergency to increase your ability to communicate transparency?



Understanding the Public – Two-way communication– Find out public knowledge, opinions, beliefs– Respect public concerns (even when they

conflict with experts’ assessments)– Increase public perceptions of control

Include personal protection actions

What can be done ahead of time to learn what the public knows and believes about potential outbreaks?

What can be done ahead of time to increase your ability to determine what the public is thinking about health threats and protection during an outbreak?

Case Study: Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Readiness & Recovery

Drowning Prevention

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention

Food & Water Safety

Electric Hazards

Vector Borne Diseases

Wound Care

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina

80% of New Orleans evacuated

1200 deaths

1,700,000 homes without electricity

Coast Guard RequestCoast Guard Request

Request for workers safety guidance

No electronic channels

No overnight delivery

No transportation into the site

Delayed Message DisseminationDelayed Message Dissemination

Delayed CommunicationIncreased

Health problems

Discussion QuestionsDiscussion Questions

What happened?

What should have happened?

What OC 1 Principle(s) were violated?

Trust?

Transparency?

Early Announcement?

Understanding Audience?

Planning ahead?

Announcing EarlyAnnouncing Early

Reduces rumors and misinformation Delay causes distrust Delay causes over estimation of risk First messages provide the frame or context

that subsequent messages must fit The earlier the risk is known the earlier

prevention steps can mitigate harm Set expectations that information may change

What can be done ahead of an outbreak to increase your ability to announce information about health risks early?

A Template for Communicating Early

What can be done ahead of time to increase the speed of message dissemination?

Develop the Trust TriangleDevelop the Trust Triangle

Communi-cation

Scientist

Policy Staff

Source Message Encoding/Language Channel(s) Audience Meaning

3 Elements of Messages 3 Elements of Messages

Content Element– Explicit information

Relational Element– Caring– Respect– Power

Contextual Elements– Beliefs and information held by the

audience that will shape understanding of health messages

What can be done ahead of time to build trust and closer working relationships between scientists, policy staff, and communication staff (public affairs, health educators/communicators, social mobilization)?

What can be done ahead of time to get communication staff involved early in discussions with policy staff and scientists so communication mistakes are less likely?

Cross Cutting and OverarchingPlanning Principles

Cross Cutting and OverarchingPlanning Principles

Establish and strengthen relationships Develop and implement protocols Begin with the end in mind Plan for just-in-time public attention Plan for most-likely scenarios Use existing mechanisms and channels Others?

What Formats From Examples Work Best for Tools?

What Formats From Examples Work Best for Tools?

Checklists Charts Flowcharts Templates Examples Others?

if i had all day to cut a large tree, i would spend most of the day sharpening my axe

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