It's critical to communicate to people affected by or at
risk from an emergency as soon as possible.
As mentioned in our previous lesson,
a crisis communication plan outlines
your organization's actions so that you can respond quickly.
A comprehensive plan should help you manage communication activities,
including any associated media and public scrutiny
for at least the first 24 to 48 hours of an emergency.
It isn't enough to just draft a plan though.
You should also learn how to apply the plan in a public health emergency.
While every emergency event is unique,
the CDC's crisis and emergency risk communication or CERC curriculum
has identified nine steps of crisis response to help guide communication activities.
These nine steps can help you ensure
that your communication efforts are timely and effective.
First, verify the situation.
Situational awareness is the first step to emergency communication.
You'll need to identify what information is available and more likely,
what information isn't available.
Information is likely to be scarce and
many established channels of communication may be disrupted.
So you'll need to determine which channels are
available and will have the intended reach.
Second, conduct notifications.
It's crucial to carefully notify the decision makers in your organization.
For instance, who should you include in your chain of command?
Up to what level and where within the scope of the organization?
As the emergency begins to unfold,
be certain to record who you notified when,
how, and if they were reached.
Third, conduct a crisis assessment and activate crisis plans.
Throughout the event, it is important to
continuously gather information and update situational awareness,
try to determine the severity of the situation,
what information should be communicated, the target audience,
and any potential barriers to communication operations,
access to resources, and staffing challenges.
Organize assignments quickly.
A crisis communication plan should identify key roles and responsibilities.
But some will have to be determined at the beginning of an emergency.
Based on the nature of the event,
audience needs an available human resources.
Task can also be divided according to the immediate and ongoing issues.
Fifth, prepare information and obtain approvals.
Every organization's approval process is unique.
This function includes all message and development activities,
the approval process and the coordination of information within the organization.
Sixth, release information through prearranged channels.
CERC at its core is about releasing information to audiences affected by emergencies.
When information is effectively delivered,
the chances of inaccurate reporting and likelihood of false rumors are reduced.
Seventh, obtain feedback and conduct a crisis evaluation.
You should evaluate your communication activities
and gather audience feedback throughout a response.
Evaluations can help you improve messaging and methods.
Eighth, conduct public education.
As a crisis begins to subside,
your public is likely to be interested in information on
how to prevent a similar emergency from occurring again,
or how to respond better to future events.
This is a good opportunity for you to offer education that can
improve public understanding, support, and preparation.
While memories of a crisis are still recent,
your public may also be more receptive to
information and behavioral change recommendations.
Finally ninth, monitor events.
Monitoring should occur at all stages of an emergency.
Ongoing feedback can help communicators adjust
their overall communications strategy and demand crisis communication plans.
Planning is the most important step to ensure an effective response using CERC.
It takes considerable time and effort to
develop and maintain a crisis communication plan.
But understanding the features of a plan and how to apply
it are vital to an emergency response to success.
Dabney P. Evans, PhD, MPHAssistant Professor
Julia Smith-EasleyLead, Risk Communication and Community Engagement
