Transcript Getting to the essential

Communicating the results of an
investigation
Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP)
district surveillance officers (DSO) course
Outline of the session
1.
2.
3.
4.
Audience
Behavioural objectives
Communication strategy
Short slide presentations
2
Key principles of communication
•
•
•
•
•
•
Define the audience
Understand the concern of the audience
Frame what you expect from the audience
Select the right media
Find the right tone
Adapt the content (e.g., language)
3
Key principles of communication
•
•
•
•
•
•
Define the audience
Understand the concern of the audience
Frame what you expect from the audience
Select the right media
Find the right tone
Adapt the content (e.g., language)
4
Audience
Audiences that may benefit from
receiving information about an outbreak
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Epidemiologists
Laboratory specialists
Public health managers
Political leaders
Community
Scientific community
Others…
5
Audience
Selecting the audience
? What needs to be done for this outbreak
? Who needs to be engaged so that these
actions are taken
6
Audience
Audiences to engage in the case of two
different outbreak scenarios
• Local food poisoning
 The community
 The food handlers
 The public health department
• Avian influenza
 Multiple audiences among professionals and the
broader community
7
Audience
Key principles of communication
•
•
•
•
•
•
Define the audience
Understand the concern of the audience
Frame what you expect from the audience
Select the right media
Find the right tone
Adapt the content (e.g., language)
8
Audience
Seek first to understand,
then to be understood
• The audience has a personal appreciation on
the situation
 What are the risks ?
 What are the opportunities ?
• Engaging the audience from the angle of the
concern they have will increase the
effectiveness of communication
9
Audience
Potential concerns among various
audiences in the case of an avian
influenza outbreak
Audiences
Press
Farmers, vets
Cullers
Public / consumers
Health care workers
Public health system
International partners
Key concern of the audience
 The truth could be hidden
 Poultry deaths means economic losses
 Protection may be cumbersome
 No risk should be taken
 Care provision could be dangerous
 Reporting cases may not lead to action
 The country may not be able to cope
10
Audience
Key principles of communication
•
•
•
•
•
•
Define the audience
Understand the concern of the audience
Frame what you expect from the audience
Select the right media
Find the right tone
Adapt the content (e.g., language)
11
Behaviours
Communication for
behavioural outcomes
• Communication has a purpose
 Getting the audience to engage in a specific
behaviour
• The purpose needs to be clear
 Identify the behaviour you would like from your
audience
• The expected behaviour guides the
communication strategy
12
Behaviours
Examples of behaviours that may be
expected from specific audiences
• Population
 Engage in safer practices
• Public health managers
 Implement prevention measures
• Political leaders
 Support prevention measures with funds
13
Behaviours
Key principles of communication
•
•
•
•
•
•
Define the audience
Understand the concern of the audience
Frame what you expect from the audience
Select the right media
Find the right tone
Adapt the content (e.g., language)
14
Strategy
Choosing the media
• Reach the audience through adapted media
• Examples:
 Decision maker
• Briefing note
 Population
• Mass media
 Nurses / doctors
• Article in a professional bulletin
15
Strategy
Key principles of communication
•
•
•
•
•
•
Define the audience
Understand the concern of the audience
Frame what you expect from the audience
Select the right media
Find the right tone
Adapt the content (e.g., language)
16
Strategy
Communication tone
• Use a tone that will create trust with the
audience
 Epidemiologists: Scientific
 Decision makers: Managerial
 Population: Empathic
• Pilot test communication tools with audience
 Pilot test with a sample of the audience
 Revised according to feedback, response
17
Strategy
Key principles of communication
•
•
•
•
•
•
Define the audience
Understand the concern of the audience
Frame what you expect from the audience
Select the right media
Find the right tone
Adapt the content (e.g., language)
18
Strategy
Communication messages
• Designed to achieve the behavioural
objective
• Adapted to the audience
• Can be designed to trigger inter-personal
communication channels
 “Ask your health care worker if your child is
fully protected against measles”
19
Strategy
Overall example: Communicating the
results of an outbreak investigation with
a district collector
• Define the audience
 Public administrator
• Understand the concern of the audience
 The public needs to be protected and the situation brought under
controls
• Frame what you expect from the audience
 Provide support for control measures
• Select the right media
 Briefing note
• Find the right tone
 Managerial, big picture, factual
• Adapt the content
 Facts, figures and recommendations
20
Strategy
Exercise: How would you communicate
the results of an outbreak investigation
with the state surveillance unit
• Define the audience
 ?
• Understand the concern of the audience
 ?
• Frame what you expect from the audience
 ?
• Select the right media
 ?
• Find the right tone
 ?
• Adapt the content
 ?
21
Strategy
Getting across a Single Overriding
Communication Objective (SOCO) during
an oral presentation with slides
• Your audience may be subject to information
overload
• The absorption capacity is limited
• Think of ONE take-home message:
 Single Overriding Communication Objective
(SOCO)
• Write down your SOCO in two or three lines
22
SOCO for oral presentations
Example of a good SOCO
“The cholera outbreak that occurred in city X in
October 2003 was caused by a sewage back-flow
into the municipal water system.
It could have been prevented through
appropriate public engineering.”
23
SOCO for oral presentations
The good SOCO
• Is easy to remember
 Clear, simple, practical
• Is an invisible blueprint of the presentation
• Gets the audience ready for action:
 This outbreak was caused by bad sanitation I want to make
sure that the one is my state is OK
 I will check with my sanitation people
• Anything that is not necessary to support the SOCO
should be cut from the presentation
24
SOCO for oral presentations
Prepare easy to read slides,
one per minute
•
•
•
•
•
Use font number 20 as an absolute minimum
Prefer fonts without serifs (e.g., “Arial”)
Use lower case that are easy to read
Ensure maximum text / background contrast
Have less than 7 lines per slide
25
SOCO for oral presentations
Readability is essential for each member
of the audience, whatever the seat
•
Font below number 20 are unreadable
• “Serifs” (e.g., “Times Roman”)
 Are adapted to small prints in book
 Are more difficult to read on a slide that is projected
• CAPITAL LETTERS ARE DIFFICULT TO READ AND
AGGRESSIVE
• Poor contrast is unpleasant and difficult to read
DO YOU GET MY POINTS?
Or is this difficult to follow?
26
SOCO for oral presentations
Using SOCOs with journalists
• Prepare a SOCO
• Stick to the SOCO
• If asked any question
 “Bridge” and find a way to get back to the SOCO
• Use of a SOCO allows you to keep control of
an interview
 You will not be caught on something you did not
say
27
SOCO for oral presentations
Exercise: A measles outbreak
in a large city
• A large metro city is affected by a large
measles outbreak
• The key determinant of the outbreak is a low
measles coverage (47%)
• Case fatality is high because children do not
present for care and do not use vitamin A
28
SOCO for oral presentations
Preparing an interview with the press
• Your supervisor ask you to give an interview
with the local radio about this outbreak
• Prepare your interview:






Who is your audience?
What is the concern of the audience?
What do you expect from the audience?
What media should you use?
What tone is right?
What is the content? (Write a SOCO)
29
SOCO for oral presentations
Take home messages
1. Communication WITH and not TO the
audience
2. Keep in mind what is needed out of people
3. Pilot test communication material
4. Have your oral presentations guided by a
clear SOCO
30
Measles outbreak exercise results
•
Define the audience
 Audio visual press
•
Understand the concern of the audience
 The press may want to finger point to create a story
•
Frame what you expect from the audience
 Children must get vaccinated and cases must receive vit A
•
Select the right media
 Interview with SOCO
•
Find the right tone
 Sympathetic
•
SOCO:
 You can protect your child during this outbreak! Make sure s/he is
vaccinated for measles and if sick, make sure s/he receives vitamin A in
the health centre
31
Strategy