Jefferson College of Health Sciences Risk Communication & Psychosocial Impacts
Question Description
Hi, I have 3 of my classmates’ posts. I need you to respond to each one separately. Also, one source at least for each one of them. Don’t write about how good their posts or how bad. All you need to do is to choose one point of the post and explore it a little bit with one source support for each response. The paper should be APA style.
The question was:
(DB wk 9) Risk Communication and Psychosocial Impacts
In your Module 5 folder, you have 3 articles in the folder marked Additional Readings: Risk Communication. The crux of this body of reading has to do with the vital importance of Risk Communication when it comes to disaster communication. Please read at least three of these articles and highlight significant points in the Discussion Board below. If you are interested, do some further research to build on your readings. In your post, please answer the following:
1. From your reading, what is an example of how psychological distress either WAS mitigated or COULD HAVE been better mitigated via the use of effective risk communication from public officials?
2. Name a success of risk communication, if you can locate one, and alternatively, name a failure of effective risk communication (and why it was deemed a failure).
3. What lessons about effective risk communication will you carry forward in your career in emergency management?
4. Please note any other lessons that you would want to make sure to share with current and future colleagues
You will need to read the three articles + skim the CDC risk/crisis communication guide in this folder before doing your discussion board assignment on risk communication. .
This the first post from my classmate IBRAHIM need for response:
From your reading, what is an example of how psychological distress either WAS mitigated or COULD HAVE been better mitigated via the use of effective risk communication from public officials?
Mitigating psychological distress, and the effective and efficient response, is based on the level of awareness and mobilized efforts. Crises can instantly or slowly compromise the wellbeing of a community. Depending on the level of awareness and readiness, crises can devastate a community to even severe psychological levels. A well-planned and executed communication plan can, however, prevent adverse levels of psychological devastations, especially during the aftermath. According to CDC (n.d.), Frank Keating, the former Oklahoma Governor, helped residents of the Oklahoma City overcome the explosion of 1995 by employing quick response, and emphasizing on open and honest communication with the public. A quick, honest and open communication during a tragedy or crisis provided facts to the distressed, ensuring well-informed decisions, and offering the opportunity to anticipate and respond to possible future challenges thus, mitigating and responding to potential psychological distress (CDD, n.d.).
Name a success of risk communication, if you can locate one, and alternatively, name a failure of effective risk communication (and why it was deemed a failure).
A success of risk communication is evaluated based on its ability to meet the expectations. The public tends to accomplish an array of things when listening to their leaders during a crisis. As mentioned earlier in the previous section, the communication approach that help to successfully mitigate psychological distress features timeliness, openness, and honesty. Therefore, a success of risk communication would a timely, open and honest detail about a crisis, just as it happened with former Governor during the Oklahoma City explosion in 1995. A failure of a risk communication, conversely, features mixed messages from different sources, untimeliness, and the inability to counter myths and rumors about the crisis (CDC, n.d.). This was the issue with the Anthrax attacks in which miscommunication resulted in even more devastation. Different experts and communication centers, such as the Monmouth Processing and Distribution Center (PDC) and CDC, gave mixed messages about the October 18, 2001, anthrax attacks; the information could not counter rumors, offer any identification with the victims, or provide facts with which the public can mitigate psychological distress (O’Neill et al., 2007).
What lessons about effective risk communication will you carry forward in your career in emergency management?
I have learned quite a lot about risk communication and its role in emergency management. However, two of the most important lessons are: to always provide timely, honest and open information to my target audience, and to always ensure readiness, preparedness, and effective response through solid plans and their effective implementation. According to Schiavo (2014), communication during a crisis should be focused on helping the affected to identify with the situation, overcome their fears, and get ready and p