ems unit I cas study

EMS 4305, EMS Public Information and Community Relations 1

UNIT I STUDY GUIDE

Information Sharing in a Crisis:

Why and How?

Unit Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Discuss the importance of having a media relations policy. 1.1 Define “communication” and explain the functions of communication 1.2 Discuss the different functional definitions of theory and describe the

application of each definition. 1.3 Define “crisis” and give examples of different types of crises that

have occurred over time. 2. Describe the types of incidents that may attract media attention.

2.1 Describe the various crisis development models and provide examples of the application of each model.

2.2 Discuss the different functional definitions of theory and describe the application of each definition.

2.3 Define “crisis” and give examples of different types of crises that have occurred over time.

3. Discuss the significance of how information is relayed and interpreted in the media. 3.1 Define “crisis” and give examples of different types of crises that

have occurred over time. 3.2 Define “communication” and explain the functions of communication. 3.3 Describe the various crisis development models and provide

examples of the application of each model.

Unit Lesson Dealing with a crisis is an everyday experience in public safety. Every call that is responded to is a crisis for someone, whether or not it truly is a public crisis. Our response to each incident is important even if only a single person is impacted. On a larger scale though, there are no shortage of examples of crises that have impacted society. Globally, in just the past 10 years we have seen typhoons, hurricanes, nor’easters, fires, floods, international and domestic terrorist attacks, and snowstorms that have all caused areas of the world to have to prepare for and respond to a crisis. Each event, whether small or large, has provided more information that has improved response to the next incident. How we react and respond to each crisis is imperative and will allow us to not only gather information, but also to potentially prevent the same event from occurring again.

Reading Assignment Chapter 1: Introduction to Crisis Communication Theory Chapter 2: Theories of Communication and Crisis Development

Key Terms 1. Communications

2. Crisis

3. Stage model

4. Theory

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Defining Crisis For most of society, a crisis is most often described by the perception of what is occurring in the exact moment of the incident. It is important to remember that to one individual, a snowstorm may be a crisis, but to the town it may just be an inconvenience. Many researchers believe that as a general definition an incident that threatens major priority goals (i.e. life, property, security, health, and psychological stability) is a crisis. In addition to the threats, a crisis requires the response of agencies whose main goal is to focus on controlling, containing, and minimizing the impacts of the incident. As the coordinating federal agency, FEMA developed a list of criteria that sets the criteria for asking the President to sign a disaster declaration. This is the closest method available to quantify the impacts of a crisis. These requirements include amount and type of damage, impact of the infrastructure, immediate threats to public health or public safety, and impacts of essential government personnel and systems. While defining crisis it only makes sense to try to determine the cause of the event. The normal accident theory (NAT) is used to describe events that were normal in nature but, with routine failure has caused catastrophic events. These are common occurrences with the increase in man-made technology. Consider the blackout that struck North America in 2003. This was not only equipment failure, but also failure of the people responsible to recognize the warnings and system improvement needs. Remember that a machine is only as good as its parts and the people running it. Another way the people believe crises occur is because there was not enough warning prior to the event. Using this logic, when there is adequate warning and preparation time a crisis can be averted. This relies on not only a strong system of notification that is easily understood, but also requires that the community pays attention to and follows the steps associated with the warning. Finally, a breakdown in vigilance may lead to the development of a crisis. This occurs when individuals conform to the consensus of the group, whether or not that is the best action to take. While there is little debate of what causes a crisis, there is often debate as to who and why a crisis has occurred. This is where communication comes into play as a part crisis management. Defining Communication At the most basic level, communication has two components: the sender and the receiver. In order for communication to be effective it must be received and understood by the intended audience. With improvements in technology, the simple system of communication has changed to allow messages to be received and sent, and for replies, questions, and continuous interaction to occur. Not only that, but messages are now received and sent within seconds, providing instant warnings, instructions, and feedback. No matter the method or the technology, communications should have a specific meaning, intended audience and the ability for that audience to understand the message sent. Communications during times of crisis are often viewed as a tool to influence the behavior of the receivers, solve problems, and coordinate actions (Sellnow & Seeger, 2013). Consider communications shared as a hurricane approaches the East Coast. Initial communications may talk of preparing for the potential of a hurricane impact, but as the system moves closer, communications change to discuss the need to evacuate or even on how to respond after, including boil water advisories and where to go when they need help. Not only do these communications change behavior and provide information, they can assist in minimizing the impacts of the crisis. Because a crisis can cause chaos and confusion, it is important that the communication used before, during, and after the event are appropriate and effective in sharing the message.

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Defining Theory How many times have you thought to yourself “In theory it’s a good idea”? Theory is our way of explaining reality or developing ideas about something that needs to be further explained. A person might choose to develop a theory on how a population will react to a crisis. However, until that crisis is played out, the appropriateness of the theory is unknown. By developing theories, we are able to develop steps to react to the theory outcome and potentially minimize impacts or improve response times after a theory. Developing theories assists in multiple functions. Theories allow for organization of observations and then allows for an attempt to explain things that appear to have no immediate explanation. This is the “If A then B” theory (Sellnow and Seeger, 2013). A well-developed theory can also attempt to predict an outcome in a particular event. For example, it is well theorized that if information is not provided in a timely manner following a crisis, then people will seek it out, whether it is a credible source or not. Additionally, once a theory is used to predict an outcome, it can also be used to develop a response to the outcome. For example, in the previously discussed theory, instead of waiting for people to seek out non-credible information, crisis managers may develop procedures to provide information before that occurs, thereby not only sharing information, but ensuring that it is credible and appropriate in nature. It is important to remember that in the “If A then B” theory, that A may not necessarily cause B, but may instead be correlated with B. For example, when noticing that crime rates increase with the sale of bubble gum, the theory can be stated that “If bubble gum sales increase, then crime rates will go up”. While there is a positive correlation between the two, there is not causation. Bubble gum sales and crime rates both increase during the summer and are not directly related to each other. Theories may be developed to be narrow or grand. As the words imply, a narrow theory has a small application while a grand theory looks to explain a large number or type of phenomena. Being able to observe and interpret is an important part of crisis management. As it relates to communications, it’s important to understand historical experience to determine when, how, and what to communicate to those impacted by the crisis. Theories of Crisis Communications While understanding what a crisis is, it is much more important to understand how a crisis develops. Understanding the development of crisis allows a person to plan and respond appropriately and in a timely and efficient manner. However, because most crisis are characterized by the chaos and confusion that they cause, it may take time to see the pattern of how the event unfolds. In fact, it may not be until after the event has ended that a pattern emerges, which is useful information for future events that are similar in nature. In order to better understand how a crisis develops, various types of stage models have been offered as a view to predict crisis development.

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Assumption of Stage Models The first assumption in any development model is that a crisis is not linear in development and involves a large number of elements as it develops. All crises, no matter which development model is used can be viewed as a series of decisions and behaviors that are based on previous events. The second assumption is that the models for development are based on theory and constant processing of information. Additionally, the theories on crisis development are based on the belief that crisis development progresses in a time-ordered and time-sensitive manner. It does not, however, mean that each stage of crisis development is a specific duration. The time-sensitive nature of crisis development is also important when determining how to handle communications during a crisis. Three-Stage Model This is one of the most common models used to describe crisis development. The three-stage model identifies the stages of crisis development as pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis. In pre-crisis the event is growing, the threat is increasing, and preparations for response are beginning. If the impending crisis is recognized, then timely warnings can be released, potentially minimizing the impact of the event. This is also a time for education on preparation and response activities that those who will be impacted can take. However, this education can only occur if there is a warning prior to the crisis. The crisis stage is just that, the time during which the crisis is occurring and the event is developing. The beginning of the crisis stage is marked by the occurrence of the trigger event. It is during this time that individuals impacted by the event will show the most emotion: fear, anger, shock, and denial. Any communications developed and released at this time must keep the emotional impact of the event in mind. In an event such as a fire, flood, or other highly visible event, the trigger point is obvious. On 9/11 the moment the first plane hit the tower the event became known, and when the second plane hit the magnitude of the crisis was obvious. However, the trigger event of a health crisis such as SARS or an H1N1 outbreak may not be as obvious, until the impact has grown in size. The final stage of the three-stage model is post-crisis. It is this time that the confusion and chaos begins to dissipate and some normalcy and order begins to return. This may also be the time that people are fully able to comprehend the impact of the crisis. Post-crisis is a time for reflection and review of the preparation and response that occurred in the previous stages of the development of the crisis. While the three-stage model does provide a simple approach to crisis development, it does have its weaknesses. Little is said about the movement from one stage to another during the development. It is also slightly generic in its approach. Regardless of the weaknesses though, many scholars use this approach to discuss crisis development.

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Fink’s Four-Stage Cycle A second stage model for looking at crisis development was created by Steven Fink. Fink compared a crisis to a chronic disease or illness that develops over time (Sellnow & Seeger, 2013). Fink believed that, like an illness, a crisis is fluid and must be administered to in order to ensure that it does not continue to develop and impact the community. In this stage cycle, a crisis develops in four stages. The first stage in Fink’s theory is the prodromal stage. This stage is similar to the pre-crisis stage (from the three stage model), in that this is the period in time where the warning signs begin to show. The difference between the pre-crisis and the prodromal stage is that in Fink’s eyes the pre-crisis stage is seen only when reviewing the crisis, while in his prodromal stage, the signs are seen early, especially if someone is monitoring, much like a doctor monitors a patient. The second stage is the acute stage. This is really the point of no return. It’s the time in which the crisis is going to impact and there is no more opportunity to prevent or prepare for it. However, if planning occurred during the prodromal stage, the impacts of the crisis will be much less. The third stage in Fink’s stage model is the chronic stage. By comparison, this is the recovery stage. It’s the opportunity to not only clean-up from the crisis, but also reflect on how to better prepare and respond to future events. The final stage is the resolution stage. Using the medical comparison, this is where the disease is gone and the “patient” is healthy again. The goal for any crisis manager is to reach the resolution stage as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, in Fink’s model, it’s possible that the acute and chronic stages may intertwine and increase in length, impacting the ability to reach the resolution stage. One of the weaknesses of Fink’s model is the fact that it looks at the disease as if it were to attack a single person. However, as is well proven, a crisis impacts more than one person, which means that “treatment” must be specialized for each person. Turner’s Six-Stage Sequence of Failure in Foresight Using his recognition of the complexity of organizations, Barry Turner developed a process called the six-stage sequence of failure in foresight (Sellnow & Seeger, 2013). Turner’s system has a clear process from one cycle to the next, though there is more focus on the socio-culture aspects of crisis and crisis management. The first stage in Turner’s sequence is the point at which things are normal, a point based on culturally accepted beliefs and views. Stage two is the development of the crisis, normally seen through the development of unnoticed events that seem to go against what is considered socially normal and acceptable. Stage three is the event itself, forcing people to finally pay attention to those little events that had built up to the crisis and begin to pay attention. Stage four is when the impact of the event itself is felt and culture norms begin to collapse as a result. This is where chaos and confusion are seen as a response. Stage five is the rescue and salvage. Turner believed this is the stage where people first begin to adjust to the changes the crisis has caused. The adjustments people make as a result of the crisis impacts allows rescuers to respond and assistance to be provided. The final stage of Turner’s sequence of failure in foresight is the final cultural adjustment. This is when society changes based on the new view of the world that was created as a result of the crisis. This is what becomes the new “normal” used to judge stage one.

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The biggest weakness of Turner’s sequence is the fact that it looks only at the socio-cultural impacts of a crisis and does not take into account any of the other impacts, such as loss of life, property, structure, or business. This narrow look fails to provide any ability to predict or prepare for response during future events. Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication The importance of crisis and emergency risk communication became much more obvious to risk managers through the aftermath of 9/11 and the anthrax contamination. As a result, the Centers for Disease Control developed a comprehensive communication approach for dealing with public health emergencies. This methodology created a general model known as crisis and emergency risk communication, or CERC. According to CERC, a crisis is marked by five stages. These five stages are:

 Pre-crisis: As with other models, the pre-crisis stage is the point during which communications are focused on sending warnings, messages, and information to prepare for the impact of the crisis.

 Initial event: This is the point at which the impact of the crisis occurs. Communication at this time focuses on reassurance, enforcing self- efficacy, and providing up-to-date information.

 Maintenance: During the third stage of CERC the messages sent focus on reducing anxiety, continuing with promotion of self-reliance, and providing direction. This is also an opportunity to provide information on risks that may arise as a result of the crisis.

 Resolution: In this stage, constant communication is important. Risk managers must provide updated information to those impacted to ensure they understand the steps for resolution, as well as the cause.

 Evaluation: This stage provides an opportunity to review actions and make adjustments to prevent future crises from causing significant impacts or attempting to avoid the crisis fully.

Because of its development based on a large number of incidents and its focus on the benefits of communication, CERC is considered to be a comprehensive and specialized model. While the model holds a positive view on the timeline of crisis development and the ability of risk managers to impact how others respond, the model recognizes the importance of those impacted and the influence of the messages sent during the crisis. Conclusion When developing crisis communication plans, it is important to remember that each person views both crises and communications differently. Because each crisis is different and the communication needs of those impacted varies, it is important to have a good understanding of the various theories of crisis development and communications in order to better respond and effectively manage the current incident, as well as prevent future incidents. With an increase in the use of social media and the desire for real-time communications, the need to act quickly will only increase.

Reference Sellnow, T. L., & Seeger, M. W. (2013). Theorizing crisis communication.

London, England: Wiley-Blackwell.