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Defining Disaster Communication

Barriers to Effective Disaster Communication

Across the three phases of disaster communication, several barriers to effective communication exist.

Lack of a Common Knowledge Base

How much each audience knows shapes the ability to respond to messages. Too little knowledge contributes to the inability to act on recommendations. Assuming that an audiences has more knowledge than they actually do about a situation may lead to a lack of trust based in the belief that information is being kept from an audience.

Real World Case: Flooding

During floods the media consistently tells their audiences to boil their drinking water without describing the process. For boiling of drinking water to be effective, the water must be boiled for a minimum time (and time adjusted for altitude).  Often these requirements are not communicated and the recommended action may not be effective. In recent years television news organizations often refer viewers to a web page for more information on treating water. It is a big assumption that someone affected by a flood will have access to the internet.

Failure to Listen

Disasters may cause all audiences to resist listening, to hear what they want to hear, and to act accordingly. This is not limited to the media or the public. Professionals and first responders also form learned responses to certain stimuli and act accordingly. The characteristics of a specific situation may require adaptation based on understanding information that has been communicated.

Real World Case - Sago Mine Disaster, January 2, 2006

In the Sago Mine Disaster the emergency response team reported they found "signs of life." Because of the limited communication capability of the rescue team and a strong desire to find the miners safe, the message was translated by the filters of the emergency workers and families to a message of "all alive." This one communication failure increased the pain and suffering of the rescue workers, the community, and most importantly the families of the miners.

(You may wish to review more information on the communication surrounding the Sago Mine Disaster at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Sago_Mine_disaster)


Distractions

During efforts to build disaster readiness, distractions relating to all of the more immediate issues facing the public, businesses, health care delivery systems, and governments function to limit the cognitive and behavioral resources devoted to messages about disaster preparedness. Effective disaster readiness communication involves a component of planning to overcome these distractions by providing compelling reasons for audiences to be interested based on their roles, rules, and intermember relations.

Real World Case - Family Disaster Readiness

In appeals to families to prepare for disasters, long lists of items to be purchased and stored comprise a frequently mentioned readiness approach. Families may pay little attention to these messages, distracted by the realities of too little space to store the belongings and items they use every day, and too little money to purchase necessities or to save for retirement. It is necessary to provide a compelling message which links preparedness to responsibilities around which families are already committed. This may include the addition of a phrase, such as "When disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, or other weather events occur, it is often at night. Electrical power will likely be disrupted and local grocery stores closed. To prepare for this event, have a flashlight in a location in each bedroom where the occupants know where it is at and can easily reach it. Keep two days of food and water stored in a location where you and your family know where it is at and can get to it…." (You may wish to review more information on communication designed to get families to prepare for disasters at: http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.d8aaecf214c576bf971e4cfe43181aa0/?vgnextoid=72c51a53f1c37110VgnVCM1000003481a10aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default)

Lack of Concentration

During communication based on preparedness, this can relate to the seeming distance in time related to the topic. During disaster response periods, communication may be competing with direct examples of loss, including family and friends, home, work site, and even entire communities. While communication to promote concentration about preparedness may require a facilitator to promote action, communication to promote concentration during response may require brief, explicit, action-oriented content. During recovery, the opportunity to be more reflective and expand upon experiences may be one that promotes concentration. These interactions may suffer from efforts to limit the time spent talking. Survivors may regard attempts to limit their input as attempts to ‘silence' them. Yet, policymakers may view the extensive time spent ‘telling their stories' as a waste of their time. Once more, a clash between roles, rules, and relations may pose a barrier to desired outcomes.             

Real World Case - Concentration, Communication, and Preparedness

Efforts to concentrate may be lacking during communication based on preparedness. This can relate to the seeming distance in time related to the topic. Communication research has long shown that events which seem to be far in the future have a difficult time competing with what is going on in the present. Even the use of fear appeals relating to negative outcomes which may occur in the future as a result of failure to prepare in the present are often unsuccessful. Thousands of Americans continue to bask in the sun despite clear messages aimed at warning them about the links between this behavior and skin cancer in the future. When asked, many may be unable to recall specific information about the evidence linking this past time activity to a health harm, as they selectively do not attend to the information. Messages promoting disaster preparedness are also likely to be perceived as fear appeals aimed at scaring the listener into action and generate selective time and attention. It is important to include an explicit bridging statement to link a current responsibility and role to the desired preparedness action to prompt fuller attention. For example, "If a disaster occurs, parents are likely to be at work and children at school. To know that your child will be well-cared for, parents should ask their children's school to provide them with information about disaster preparedness."

To read about this phenomenon in more detail, you may wish to consult the following resource:

Ellenbogen, M. A., Schwartzman, A. E., Stewart, J., & Walker, C. (2002). Stress and selective attention: The interplay of mood, cortisol levels, and emotional information processing. Psychophysiology, 39, 723-732.


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