Exploring how and why communication breakdowns occur during pandemics and world disasters, this book offers solutions for improving communication and managing future public health crises. A compilation of evidence-based lessons learned, this book shows how to effectively convey critical lifesaving information during a pandemic. It assesses how trust in leaders and governments during a public health crisis is formed and the impact this has on how information is perceived by the public. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study, the book demonstrates how informative policy decisions and health risk messages can be better communicated for the handling of future pandemics. At a macro-level, the book looks at issues concerning situational awareness, how different countries managed or mismanaged the pandemic, and the lessons readers can learn from those occurrences. At a micro-level, it examines individual differences in public health message perceptions and corresponding actions taken or not taken. An interdisciplinary critique of the delivery and reception of messages during global disasters, this text is suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses in Communication Studies, Health Communication, Risk Communication and Public Health, Psychology, Sociology, and Disaster Management.

A resource for public officials on the basic tenets of effective communications generally and on working with the news media specifically. Focuses on providing public officials with a brief orientation and perspective on the media and how they think and work, and on the public as the end-recipient of info.; concise presentations of techniques for responding to and cooperating with the media in conveying info. and delivering messages, before, during, and after a public health crisis; a practical guide to the tools of the trade of media relations and public communications; and strategies and tactics for addressing the probable opportunities and the possible challenges that are likely to arise as a consequence of such communication initiatives. Ill.

In this fully updated Second Edition, three of today’s most respected crisis/risk communication scholars provide the latest theory, practice, and innovative approaches for handling crisis. This acclaimed book presents the discourse of renewal as a theory to manage crises effectively. The book provides 15 in-depth case studies that highlight successes and failures in dealing with core issues of crisis leadership, managing uncertainty, communicating effectively, understanding risk, promoting communication ethics, enabling organizational learning, and producing renewing responses to crisis. Unlike other crisis communication texts, this book answers the question, “What now?” and explains how organizations can and should emerge from crisis.

Effective communication through the media is an essential responsibility of public health officials, particularly during emergencies. Urgent high-concern situations present a unique communication challenge. Recent outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and avian influenza, releases of anthrax and sarin, and the tsunami disaster in South-east Asia underline the importance of communication during public health emergencies. Poor communication can erode public support, fan emotions, undermine confidence, and amplify social and economic costs. Effective communication can rally support, calm a nervous public, provide much-needed information, encourage cooperative behaviors, and help save lives. This handbook presents an integrated principle-based approach to media communication for those dealing with public health emergencies. Topics covered include how journalists gather and process information about public health emergencies, steps for planning and implementing an effective media communication program, identifying and reaching target audiences, conducting media interviews, avoiding traps and pitfalls, and preparing key messages. It is designed to improve those skills needed for preparing and delivering public health messages during an emergency. It will be useful to public health and government officials, senior managers in public and private sector organizations, hospital managers, public information officers, and experts responsible for communicating with the media. The Field Guide produced as a separate book summarizes the practical steps that can be taken to strengthen and enhance efforts made in this area. The target audiences for the Field Guide are WHO offices field personnel and public health officials who are unfamiliar with media interactions or who wish to sharpen their skills in this area. Companion volume link: Field Guide

This popular and engaging text on health communication is now revised and updated in a second edition that incorporates recent research and boasts new material on topics such as crisis communication, social disparities in health, and systemic reform. Fully revised second edition of this popular and authoritative text Includes fresh material on topics such as crisis communication, health care reform, global health issues, and political issues in health communication New case studies, examples, and updated glossary keep the work relevant and student-friendly Provides effective strategies for healthcare organizations and individuals in communicating with patients Updated and enhanced online resources, including PowerPoint slides, test bank, and instructors manual, available upon publication at www.wiley.com/go/wright

Building communication capacity is a critical piece of preparing for, detecting, and responding to infectious disease threats. The International Health Regulations (IHR) establish risk communicationâ€"the real-time exchange of information, advice, and opinions between experts or officials and people who face a threat to their survival, health, and economic or social well-beingâ€"as a core capacity that World Health Organization member states must fulfill to strengthen the fight against these threats. Despite global recognition of the importance of complying with IHR, 67 percent of signatory countries report themselves as not compliant. By investing in communication capacity, public health and government officials and civil society organizations facing health crises would be prepared to provide advice, information, and reassurance to the public as well as to rapidly develop messages and community engagement activities that are coordinated and take into account social and behavioral dynamics among all sectors. To learn about current national and international efforts to develop the capacity to communicate effectively during times of infectious disease outbreaks, and to explore gaps in the research agenda that may help address communication needs to advance the field, the Forum on Microbial Threats of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a 1.5 day workshop on December 13 and 14, 2016, in Washington, DC. Participants reviewed progress and needs in strengthening communication capacity for dealing with infectious disease threats for both outbreaks and routine challenges in the United States and abroad. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

This book provides insights into the complexities of multicultural relations in health care and demystifies the many cultural influences on health and health care to achieve its ultimate goal - to help people get the most they can out of health care and facilitate the promotion of public health.