TY - JOUR
T1 - Recommendations on how to manage anticipated communication dilemmas involving medical countermeasures in an emergency
AU - Schoch-Spana, Monica
AU - Brunson, Emily
AU - Chandler, Hannah
AU - Gronvall, Gigi Kwik
AU - Ravi, Sanjana
AU - Sell, Ma Tara Kirk
AU - Shearer, Matthew P.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was supported by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Contract HHSF223201400018C). The views, opinions, and findings contained in this article are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the FDA.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/7
Y1 - 2018/7
N2 - National investments to facilitate prompt access to safe and effective medical countermeasures (MCMs) (ie, products used to diagnose, prevent, protect from, or treat conditions associated with chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats, or emerging infectious diseases) have little merit if people are not willing to take a recommended MCM during an emergency or inadvertently misuse or miss out on a recommended MCM during an emergency. Informed by the Expert Working Group on MCM Emergency Communication, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security developed recommendations for achieving desired public health outcomes through improved MCM communication based on a review of model practices in risk communication, crisis communication, and public warnings; detailed analysis of recent health crises involving MCMs; and development of a scenario depicting future MCM communication dilemmas. The public’s topics of concern, emotional requirements, capacity for processing information, and health needs will evolve as an emergency unfolds, from a pre-event period of routine conditions, to a crisis state, to a post-event period of reflection. Thus, MCM communication by public health authorities requires a phased approach that spans from building up a reputation as a trusted steward of MCMs between crises to developing recovery-focused messages about applying newly acquired data about MCM safety, efficacy, and accessibility to improve future situations.
AB - National investments to facilitate prompt access to safe and effective medical countermeasures (MCMs) (ie, products used to diagnose, prevent, protect from, or treat conditions associated with chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats, or emerging infectious diseases) have little merit if people are not willing to take a recommended MCM during an emergency or inadvertently misuse or miss out on a recommended MCM during an emergency. Informed by the Expert Working Group on MCM Emergency Communication, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security developed recommendations for achieving desired public health outcomes through improved MCM communication based on a review of model practices in risk communication, crisis communication, and public warnings; detailed analysis of recent health crises involving MCMs; and development of a scenario depicting future MCM communication dilemmas. The public’s topics of concern, emotional requirements, capacity for processing information, and health needs will evolve as an emergency unfolds, from a pre-event period of routine conditions, to a crisis state, to a post-event period of reflection. Thus, MCM communication by public health authorities requires a phased approach that spans from building up a reputation as a trusted steward of MCMs between crises to developing recovery-focused messages about applying newly acquired data about MCM safety, efficacy, and accessibility to improve future situations.
KW - Crisis communication
KW - Emergency preparedness
KW - Medical countermeasures
KW - Public health emergency
KW - Risk communication
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U2 - 10.1177/0033354918773069
DO - 10.1177/0033354918773069
M3 - Article
C2 - 29847750
AN - SCOPUS:85047957252
VL - 133
SP - 366
EP - 378
JO - Public Health Reports
JF - Public Health Reports
SN - 0033-3549
IS - 4
ER -