“Establishing a National CBRNE Training Program for Health,
Psychosocial and Communications Professions”
Risk Communications
for Disaster Response in
an increasingly
Wired World
What communicators
need to know and do
Christine Clark Lafleur
Emergence of Risk Communications in
Disaster Response
Understanding and implementing Risk
Communication can help provide the
principles, structures and tools to provide
vital and effective information required by
individuals, stakeholders, and entire
communities to help mobilize and enact
the best possible decisions during a major
public disaster or emergency event.
What , Why Risk Communication
Crisis Communication is most often used to describe an
organization facing a crisis and the need to communicate
about that crisis to its internal and external stakeholders
including the news media and the public.
Risk communication, is different from crisis communications
in that the communications’ focus is to provide the receiver
with information about the expected type (good or bad) and
magnitude (weak or strong) of an outcome from a behavior
or exposure.
What is Risk Communications
Actions, words, and other interactions that incorporate and respect the
perceptions of the information recipients, intended to help people make
more informed decisions about threats to their health and safety.
This definition emphasizes that:
➠ Risk communication is a matter of what an organization does, not just
what it says.
➠ Risk communication must account for the affective component in peoples
perceptions of risk.
➠ Risk communication will be more effective if it is thought of as dialogue,
not instruction. It will be more successful if the goal is to encourage certain
behaviors, not simply to expect that the information recipients will think and
do what the communicators want them to.
This approach recognizes findings in the fields of neuroscience and
psychology which have established that the perception of risk is a dual
process of fact and feeling. Individually and collectively as a community we
use the information we have and a set of instincts which help us gauge how
frightening something feels.
More … What is Risk Communications
Any purposeful exchange of information about risk or
perceptions about risk
Any public or private communication that informs
individuals about the existence, nature, form, severity, or
acceptability of risk
Practical concepts of risk communication
– Perception = Reality
– Communication = Skill
– Goal = Trust + Credibility
Risk Communications Goals
•
Enhance knowledge and understanding
• Build trust and credibility
• Encourage appropriate attitudes, behaviours &
beliefs
High concern situations change the rules of communication
(i.e., message noise theory, negative dominance theory, risk
perception theory, public outrage theory.)
Value of Effective Risk Communications
Effective application of Risk Communications
principles and applications:
• Can help create a communications
environment based on trust and credibility –
• Produce an informed audience that is
involved, interested, reasonable, thoughtful,
solution-oriented, and collaborative –
• Build confidence in your agency’s
professionalism, commitment and expertise
Module 1: Introduction to
Risk Communication

Learning Objectives: understand the distinction between crisis and risk
communications; recognize risk communications as an emerging field and
resource; recognize and identify the role of risk communications in a
disaster/crisis situation; begin to apply risk communications principles and
tactics to assist response and mitigate negative impact

The Role of Communication in Disaster

Message noise theory, Negative dominance theory, Risk perception theory,
Public outrage theory

Principles and Goals of Risk Communications

Background, Thought leaders and New Developments in risk
communications

Crisis & Emergency Risk Communication Lifecycle
Module 2: Psychology of a Disaster
Learning Objectives: recognize, respond to and mitigate the distinct human
characteristics of disaster/crisis situation to assist response and mitigate negative
impact

Human Behavior in an Emergency – Macro (community /collective) & Micro
(self) Perspectives

Human Psychology During a Crisis - Macro (community /collective) & Micro
(self) Perspectives

Understanding Concepts of Death and Grief

When Every Word Matters – semantics, messages and message impact

Cultural Considerations
Module 3: Roles, Systems & Structures
Learning Objectives: recognize and identify the role of individual
responders in a disaster/crisis situation; pre-condition and understand
roles, reporting lines and authorities of different public agencies in
disaster / crisis situation; command centre authorities; begin to assess
and apply risk communications principles and tactics to assist response
and mitigate negative impact
•
Every Disaster is Different
•
Command Centre
•
Roles of Public Agencies – Federal, Provincial, Municipal
•
Public Health
•
Regulatory Agencies
•
First Responders – Police, Fire & Emergency Services
•
News Media
•
New Media Frontier
Module 4: Role & Impact of News Media
and Social Media during a Disaster
Learning Objectives: recognize and identify the role of new media and the
evolving role of traditional media vis a vis public safety and disaster
response; recognize pre-preparedness activities and actions
•
Shift from traditional news channels to new media
•
Evolving impact and dominance
•
New media channels – what they are, when/what to use ,
dashboards, push, instagram, twitter
•
Credible networks
•
Building presence and networks inadvance
Module 5: Messages and Messaging
before, during and after a Disaster or Crisis
Learning Objectives: recognize and identify the aspects of effective public messaging –
components, requirements and characteristics; recognize and apply principles, tools and
templates
•
Disaster Crisis communications life cycle
•
Instructional Messages
•
Message Mapping
•
Responding to news media in a newly wired world
•
News updates, News Conferences, News Releases
•
Credible & Spokesperson(s)
•
Key principles
•
Tool kit
Module 6: Scenario Assessment
Learning Objectives: Application and experiential opportunity; use of value
adds (e-games, dashboard)
Scenario #1 – E-game : participate in public health disaster
Scenario #2 – Assign role as lead communicator for provincial Public
Health Agency; using dashboard results develop a response plan and
communication deliverables
Scenario #3 – Assign role as blogger – create a mischief plan to disrupt the
efforts of emergency responders dispatched to furnace malfunction at
Cameco, Port Hope
What next?
• Best practice and literature search (estimate 20
hours to complete research )
• Course development – work book and resource
materials (estimate 30 hours)
• Field search – who /what else is out there as
education/ course offering and how does it
compare? (estimate 10 hours)
All for one and one for all …
initial assessment
Team support required:
• Psychosocial component – support
• Scenario component – identify
• Support for Introduction and access to value adds
– dashboard, e-games, network of experts
• Course Marketing
• Course Delivery