For any disaster, effective public communications are vital to the success of response and recovery operations. For a chemical incident, effective public communications involve the transmission of, via readily available channels, potentially lifesaving information to the population at risk of exposure in a manner that they can understand such that they will choose actions or behaviors that are protective of human and environmental health.40,44 The responsibility of effectively communicating information relevant to local chemical risks falls to PIOs and public affairs specialists, community leaders, emergency managers, incident commanders, and first responders.
Public communications must synthesize complex human and environmental health information to promote public compliance with guidance. Public fear typically occurs with large-scale incidents.
Coordinated, accessible messaging and information that adheres to principles of risk communication, even in areas unaffected by the incident, are crucial.
For a chemical incident of substantial size, complexity, and/or consequence, the need for effective communications during response is heightened due to the potential for the population or the environment to become directly exposed to or contaminated by the substance or as a result of a secondary transfer from a contaminated individual or surface. Thus, for a chemical incident, immediate response outcomes are closely tied to:
- The speed with which crisis and emergency risk communications on protective actions are deployed to the population-at-risk and the population-at-large
- The accuracy and clarity of the information provided
- The speed with which (and extent to which) the public complies with guidance on measures for personal and environmental protection
Public compliance is heavily influenced by public perception. Therefore, in a chemical incident, public communications must synthesize complex information, present it clearly and confidently, and instill/maintain public trust to elicit the best possible compliance with protective, potentially lifesaving guidance. For example, during the immediate response to a chemical incident, effective communications between government officials and the public can minimize panic and increase public adherence to evacuation or other actions, and have the potential to reduce the extent of environmental damage and human and animal health injuries. (Evacuation and other potential protective actions are discussed in KPF 4, Control the Spread of Contamination.)
Success in achieving desirable response and recovery outcomes are reliant upon continuing communications that:
- Provide timely and continuing messaging to the public for warning, guidance, and information sharing
- Maintain public awareness of ongoing cleanup and remediation activities and ongoing human, animal, and environmental health risks
- Maintain empathetic and validating two-way communication between decision-makers and the public
- Coordinate messaging for the above through the interagency process as appropriate
Effective response and recovery communication will be fostered by comprehensive and flexible communication plans, strategies, and content, developed prior to an incident. Maintaining public trust and compliance with warnings and guidance will continue to be a key objective of communications activities during incident response and recovery. The following sections discuss considerations and guidance for message content and delivery, as well as communications strategies promoting successful response to and recovery from a chemical incident.
Keep in mind that public communications during chemical incident response will likely include timely, accurate and consistent incident information, including relevant animal and public health guidance. Due to the involvement of potentially toxic substances in the incident, they will likely be more complex than most emergency messages.
Footnotes
40. UPMC Center for Health Security. (2016, November). How to Steward Medical Countermeasures and Public Trust in an Emergency. A Communication Casebook for FDA and its Public Health Partners. (Contract: HHSF223201400018C).
44. Fischhoff, B., Brewer, N.T., & Downs, J.S. (2011, April). In Communicating Risks and Benefits: An Evidence-Based User's Guide. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (pp. 19-29).