Definition of Risk communication

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DISASTER PLANNING AND RESPONSE TRAINING
RISK COMMUNICATION Ruby E. Brown, Ph.D. Mental
Health Outreach and Emergency Response
Coordinator Project Manager, Arlington County
Community Resilience Project Arlington County
Behavioral Healthcare Division
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Definition of Risk communication

• An interactive process of exchange of information
  and opinion among individuals, groups, and
  institutions. It often involves multiple
  messages about the nature of risk or expressing
  concerns, opinions, or reactions to risk
  messages, or to legal and institutional
  arrangements for management

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Rubys Common Language Definition

• Risk communication is the process of providing
  the public with information that serves to reduce
  anxiety and fear as well as provide suggestions
  for planning that will assist the public in
  responding appropriately to some crisis (or
  impending crisis) situation. Typically the
  crisis situation has the potential to impact
  large groups of people.

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Benefit of Risk Communication

• Risk communication can assist public
  professionals in their roles of preventing
  ineffective, fear-driven, and potentially
  damaging public responses to serious crises.

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Risk Communication and Psychological Well-being

• What is the relationship between risk
  communication and psychological (mental)
  well-being?

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Goals of Risk Communication

• DO NO HARM
• Ease Public Concern
• Give the public guidance on how to respond to the
  crisis

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What Is A Risk Message?

• A risk message is a written, verbal, or visual
  statement containing information about risk. It
  may or may not include advice about risk
  reduction behavior.

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Goal 2.Ease public concern

• What Information Should the Message Contain?
• The risk is low
• The illness is treatable
• The illness is not easily contracted
• Symptoms are easily recognized

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Goal 3. Give the public guidance on how to
respond to the situation

• What types of information should the messages
  contain?
• Give directions on what precautions to take
• Give the most common symptoms to look for
• If they think they have been exposed or are
  symptomatic, contact physician
• Take note of symptoms in others such as children
  in the family

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Goal 1 Do No Harm

• What types of information should messages
  contain?
• If designed to ease public concern
• If designed to give guidance on how to most
  appropriately respond
• Then no harm will be done

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Short-term Memory

• Whatever is being actively thought about at a
  given moment
• Limited
• Selective Attention
• Rehearsal or only lasts about one-half a minute
• Not only short duration, but also limited
  capacity for between five to nine items

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Long-term Memory

• Once rehearsed and stored into long term,
  information is stored indefinitely
• Capacity is essentially limitless

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Perception of Risk

• People perceive risks differently, and people do
  not believe that all risk are of the same type,
  size, or importance

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Risks perceived to Are more accepted than

• Be voluntary Risks perceived as being
• 
  imposed
• Be under an Risks perceived to be
• individuals control controlled by others
• Have clear benefits Risks perceived to have
• little benefit
• Be distributed fairly Risks perceived to be
  unfairly distributed
• Be natural Be manmade
• Be statistical Risks perceived to be
  catastrophic
• Be generated by a Risks perceived to
  trusted source
  be generated by an untrusted source
• Be familiar Risks perceived to be exotic
• Affect adults Risks perceived to affect
• children

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Risks perceived to Are more accepted than

• Be generated by a trusted Risks
  perceived to be
• source generated by an untrusted
  
  
  source
• Be familiar Risks perceived to be exotic
• Affect adults Risks perceived to
  affect
• 
  children

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Perception of Risk Summary

• The more uncertain we are about a risk, the more
  afraid we will be
• Risks to children frighten us more than risks to
  adults
• The more aware of a risk we are, the more afraid
  we are likely to be
• Fear is grater when a risk is new

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Risk Communication Myths

• Myths can interfere with the development of an
  effective risk communication program

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Common Risk Communication Myths

• Risk Communication is more likely to alarm than
  calm
• Communication is less important than education
• Issues that arise in times of crisis are too
  difficult for the public to understand
• Risk Communication is not my job
• Listening to the public will divert limited
  resources to concerns that are not a great threat
  to public health

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Five Rules for Earning Trust and Building
Credibility

• Accept and involve the public as a partner
• Appreciate the publics specific concerns
• Be honest and open. Never mislead the public by
  lying or failing to provide information that is
  important in their understanding of issues
• Work with other previously established credible
  source
• Meet the needs of the media

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Defusing Anger and Hostility

• Acknowledge the existence of hostility
• Listen. Validate peoples frustrations and
  communicate empathy and caring
• Answer questions thoughtfully
• Consider that what appears to be anger and
  hostility might just be fear or anxiety
• Often the opposite response will help to
  de-escalate a situation

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Cause Im gonna be following the VDH and BHC
People !