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Ebola Crisis?Communication Chaos We Can Avoid
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Mirroring a Hollywood thriller movie, the Ebola outbreak is dramatically developing in real time, complete with alerts, warnings, and breaking news. Apocalyptic predictions from our trusted health organizations warn that the outbreak will last at least a year and infect more than a million people before it is controlled. Even as Americans are reassured by global organizations and our government that Ebola is confined to certain parts of West Africa, a seemingly normal traveler entered the United States and soon became sick with Ebola. This sparked a new panic with front page coverage relentlessly pursued on our nation's network news, newspapers, and social media.
This pattern of communication chaos tests our ability to appropriately reach and inform citizens with understandable, reliable, and actionable news (information) they can use. People wonder about their risk of exposure in daily life, whether it be in apartment complexes, airports, schools, supermarkets, or hospitals.
This pattern of communication chaos tests our ability to appropriately reach and inform citizens with understandable, reliable, and actionable news (information) they can use. People wonder about their risk of exposure in daily life, whether it be in apartment complexes, airports, schools, supermarkets, or hospitals.
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If we have this leadership, our state, county, city, and local health departments could also follow evidence-based approaches and not self-impose restrictions different from trustworthy and well-thought guidelines. Ebola?a virus once far away from US soil?is yet another warning that we need to establish communication preparedness.
Additionally, to quell the Ebola scourge globally, we also need a response beyond boots on the ground. We need to strengthen our international institution communication response, arming government, medical, and community leaders with information and communication strategies that will help transform people's behavior and beliefs about the disease. This will include visible demonstration of disease control procedures so that trusted village heads, imams, and traditional healers demonstrate health behaviors such as hand washing, human contact, and burial practices to control the spread of the disease. Such influential community and social mobilization is a challenge because communicating the public health and community benefits of disease control is in itself a communication challenge.
Our history documents that an informed, activated public is of utmost importance in protecting the health of the public. Likewise, an informed and activated leadership that employs health communication and diplomacy is fundamental to restoring Americans' health while building and maintaining a strong public health system.
Additionally, to quell the Ebola scourge globally, we also need a response beyond boots on the ground. We need to strengthen our international institution communication response, arming government, medical, and community leaders with information and communication strategies that will help transform people's behavior and beliefs about the disease. This will include visible demonstration of disease control procedures so that trusted village heads, imams, and traditional healers demonstrate health behaviors such as hand washing, human contact, and burial practices to control the spread of the disease. Such influential community and social mobilization is a challenge because communicating the public health and community benefits of disease control is in itself a communication challenge.
Our history documents that an informed, activated public is of utmost importance in protecting the health of the public. Likewise, an informed and activated leadership that employs health communication and diplomacy is fundamental to restoring Americans' health while building and maintaining a strong public health system.