Public Health Emergency Preparedness

Part A: Original Contribution-Minimum 1 page AMA format: Select a public emergency (e.g. earthquake in Nepal; Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia; recent tornados in Texas & Oklahoma, heat wave in India) and perform internet research to locate various forms of communication that are related to the event. Select one form of communication you found that does not fully adhere to risk communication directives.  Then in your post,

· Briefly summarize the public health emergency you selected and include the link.

· Describe the format (video, press release, newspaper article, etc.) of the communication you are critiquing, and the issuing agency.


· Evaluate the effectiveness of the communication based on what you have read and learned about PHEP communications from this week’s materials, discussing the implications of the current message and its possible impact on decision making or public reaction. The Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication Wallet Card from your Readings will provide you will some succinct criteria to use in your evaluation.


· Make concrete suggestions for improving this message based on your learning of appropriate risk communication methods.


Part B: Response Post-1/2 -1 page AMA format: Based on the classmate’s critique below, provide at least one additional suggestion for improving the effectiveness of this communication.

Classmate Lanphear’s post: 

Annapolis Shooting Communication

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In the afternoon of June 28, 2018, news outlets began reporting a shooting at a newspaper office in Annapolis, Maryland. CNN, one of the nation’s largest news sources, began sharing live updates as quickly as new information was released. The first three updates from CNN, available here, did a poor job of meeting standards for emergency risk communication.1

According to the North Carolina Institute for Public Health, key elements of emergency risk communication include expressing empathy, providing facts to reduce feelings of uncertainty, offering actions for the public to take for safety, and promote a sense of restored self-control.2 Unfortunately, the CNN updates failed to include most of these elements. There were no statements of empathy or acknowledgement of the fear likely being experienced by readers. The facts that were shared may have been all that were available at the time, but they certainly did not reduce uncertainty; in fact, one update included a statement from a police spokesperson regarding the possibility of additional threats including other shooters or even bombs. Also missing was guidance on what the public could do to stay safe, which is an effective way to restore feelings of self-control.

It should be taken into consideration that the source of the risk communication in this example is a news organization, whose primary interest is different than that of a public health or safety organization. However, I think it is important for such a large news outlet as CNN to at least make an attempt at following guidelines for effective risk communication. I think particularly interesting are the statements made by the police spokesperson. Whether or not CNN should have done a better job, that spokesperson definitely had a responsibility to follow the guidelines.  

References

1. Police spokesperson: "We're trying to minimize the casualties". CNN. https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/maryland-newspaper-shooting/h_3ffe88deb60b2d853bf79b86503409f3. Published June 29, 2018. Accessed July 12, 2018.

2. NCCPHP Training Site. NCIPH Training Website. https://nciph.sph.unc.edu/tws. Accessed July 12, 2018.

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