Transcript Risk Communication from the standpoint of ASTDR

Mass communication
and social marketing
Peter D. Rumm, MD, MPH
Public Health Defined



Public health carries out its mission through
organized, interdisciplinary efforts that address
the physical, mental and environmental health
concerns of communities and populations at risk
for disease and injury. Its mission is achieved
through the application of health promotion and
disease prevention technologies and interventions
designed to improve and enhance quality of life.
Health promotion and disease prevention
technologies encompass a broad array of
functions and expertise, including the three core
public health functions
http://www.asph.org/document.cfm?page=300
Keep in Mind the Core Functions
Public Health

Assessment

Assurance

Policy development
Never Forget the Essential Public
Health Services











Monitor health status to identify community health problems
Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in
the community
Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety
Inform, educate and empower people about health issues
Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health
problems
(a) Link people to needed personal health services and
(b) Assure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable
Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and
population-based health services
Assure a competent public health and personal health care
workforce
Develop policies and plans that support individual and community
health efforts
Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health
problems
Public Health Foundation TaskForce 2000.
Don’t Forget Health Promotion Science –
what an MPH brings to the table!


Models: APEX, PATCH, Proceed-Proceed,
LOGIC etc.
Theories:
•
•
•
•
•
Theory of reasoned action
Diffusion of innovations
Health Belief – Stages of Change
Social Capital
& many more!
“Communications”




"We take communication for granted because we
do it so frequently, but it's actually a complex
process."
Joseph Sommerville, PhD
"You can communicate best when you first
listen."
Catherine Pulsifer
"Your ability to communicate is an important tool
in your pursuit of your goals, whether it is with
your family, your co-workers or your clients and
customers."
Les Brown
"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak.
Courage is also what it takes to sit down and
listen."
Winston Churchill
Principles of Mass Communication
Kreuter et. al.






Use objectives to stay focused
Make informed decisions
Don’t reinvent the wheel
There is “no such thing as a free
lunch”
To maximize effectiveness
strategically combine multiple tactics
to influence complex problems
Be creative!
Signposts to be Effective – Adapted
from Kreuter et. al.






I. Determine what health communication can do
for you
II. Determine whom are you trying to
communicate
III. What does it cost your audience to hear your
message?
III. What do you want to say?
IV. How will the message get to your audience?
Source for the last two slides: Kreuter, Lezin et.
al. Community Health Promotion ideas that Work,
2nd ed. Jones and Bartlett, 2003.
CDC 4 Principles Social Marketing




Product: what the consumer is
asked to "buy" (often a behavior),
Price: the actual cost or something
the consumer must give up/ do in
order to obtain the product,
Place: how and where the product
reaches the consumer, and
Promotion: how information about
the product is disseminated.
Social Marketing Defined

One frequently quoted definition of
social marketing is the "application of
commercial marketing technologies
to the analysis, planning, execution,
and evaluation of programs designed
to influence the voluntary behavior of
target audiences in order to improve
their personal welfare and that of
their society" (Andreasen, 1995)
Definitions of Mass
Communications



Includes journalism, programmes in radio and television
broadcasting, public relations, communications arts, library
science, programmes for technicians in museums and
similar repositories, documentation techniques
www.unece.org/stats/gender/web/glossary/F/field1.htm
The transmission of messages which may be processed by
gate keepers prior to being sent to large audiences via a
channel of broad diffusion
highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0072400773/student_view0/chapter1/glos
sary.html
(Perhaps best) Communication from one person
or group of persons through a transmitting
device (a medium) to a large audience or market.
www.sociologyessentials2nded.nelson.com/glossary4.html
Important Public Health Terms


Risk Communication from the
standpoint of ASTDR:
Overview of Issues and Guiding
Principles
for Health Risk Communication =
putting risk into perpective and
disseminating this message to
different audiences in a timely
manner
Caution re Risk Communication

Merely disseminating information
without regard for communicating the
complexities and uncertainties of risk
does not necessarily ensure effective
risk communication. Well-managed
efforts will help ensure that your
messages are constructively
formulated, transmitted, and received
and that they result in meaningful
actions. Consider how the process
works and some general principles for
improving effectiveness.
Myths re risk communication!





Belief in some common myths often interferes with
development of an effective risk communication program.
Consider the myths and actions you can take.
Myth: We don't have enough time and resources to have a
risk communication program.
Action: Train all your staff to communicate more effectively.
Plan projects to include time to involve the public..
Myth: Telling the public about a risk is more likely to unduly
alarm people than keeping quiet.
Action: Decrease potential for alarm by giving people a
chance to express their concerns.
Myth: Communication is less important than education. If
people knew the true risks, they would accept them.
Action: Pay as much attention to your process for dealing
with people as you do to explaining the data.
Source: ASTDR website
Continued:



Myth: We shouldn't go to the public until we have
solutions to environmental health problems.
Action: Release and discuss information about
risk management options and involve
communities in strategies in which they have a
stake.
Myth: These issues are too difficult for the public
to understand.
Action: Separate public disagreement with your
policies from misunderstanding of the highly
technical issues.
Myth: Technical decisions should be left in the
hands of technical people.
Action: Provide the public with information.
Listen to community concerns. Involve staff with
diverse backgrounds in developing policy.
The Health Alert Network

Sophisticated information portal
being built “on the backs” of the
terrorism funding by the CDC/HRSA.
What is Going on with the HAN?

Currently, HAN is a strong national
program, providing vital health
information and the infrastructure to
support the dissemination of that
information at the State and Local
levels, and beyond. A vast majority of
the State-based HAN programs have
over 90% of their population covered
under the umbrella of HAN. The HAN
Messaging System currently directly
and indirectly transmits Health Alerts,
Advisories, and Updates to over one
million recipients. The current system
is being phased into the overall PHIN
messaging component.
NEDSS


Closely related:
The National Electronic Disease
Surveillance System (NEDSS) is an
initiative that promotes the use of data
and information system standards to
advance the development of efficient,
integrated, and interoperable surveillance
systems at federal, state and local
levels. It is a major component of the
Public Health Information Network (PHIN).
GOAL OF NEDSS AND HAN






To detect outbreaks rapidly and to monitor the health of the
nation
Facilitate the electronic transfer of appropriate information
from clinical information systems in the health care system
to public health departments
Reduce provider burden in the provision of information
Enhance both the timeliness and quality of information
provided
Surveillance Systems collect and monitor data for disease
trends and/or outbreaks so that public health personnel can
protect the nation's health.
The vision of NEDSS (and the HAN) is to
have integrated surveillance systems that
can transfer appropriate public health,
laboratory, and clinical data efficiently and
securely over the Internet. NEDSS will
revolutionize public health by gathering
and analyzing information quickly and
accurately.
Communication Lessons







KISS
Say you don’t know but will find out
Do your research and evaluations
Look your audience in the eye
Be enthusiastic
Don’t’ over-state your knowledge!
Don’t underestimate your impact!