Communicating includes sending and receiving messages. Effective communicators take time to learn the values, attitudes, beliefs, and preferences of their intended audiences. By understanding who makes up the audience, a communicator can develop messages that resonate with the audience, motivating them to take action. For public health emergency risk communicators this means creating messages that educate and motivate people to protect their health during an emergency. This chapter explains how to identify audiences through audience segmentation by identifying risk variables such as age, health status, and geographic location. Stakeholder management theory provides critical insights into how to work and communicate with partners, stakeholders, and the public during a health emergency. Key information about public health laws including libel, slander, HIPPA and Right to Know is included, analyzing how public health laws impact emergency risk communication. Descriptions of public health powers for state and local health departments are included. A student case study analyzes the Jackson, Mississippi, Water Crisis using the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication framework. Reflection questions are included at the end of the chapter.

When health threats are mitigated, the emergency moves into what is known as the "recovery phase." During the recovery phase health officials communicate that the health threat has been mitigated and that the community will move toward a "new normal," express empathy, and continue to state the agency’s commitment to the community. Additionally, the health agency can engage in educating the public about lessons learned during the health response and how to prepare for future emergencies. This chapter outlines how to engage with policymakers after a health emergency. The chapter describes the importance of memorials during the recovery phase and how public health agencies can support communities that want to memorialize large-scale health emergencies. It will also address how agency leadership engages with staff as response operations de-escalate and surge staff return to their regular public health work. The chapter provides practical tips on how to write recovery messages and provides quick response communication planning and implementation steps such as identifying communication objectives, audiences, key messages, and channels and developing communication products/materials. This chapter also includes key tips related to spokespeople, partner agencies, and call centers to ensure message consistency is achieved during the response. Mindfulness is highlighted. A student case study analyzes the COVID-19 outbreak in Georgia using the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication framework. Reflection questions are included at the end of the chapter.

The first 24–48 hours of a health emergency require the responding health agency to communicate with the public about what they know, what they don’t know, and what they are doing to find new information. By engaging in initial messages early in a crisis, health agencies can demonstrate credibility and build trust with the public. This chapter deconstructs initial messages and identifies four critical message components: addressing uncertainty, expressing empathy, making a commitment, and providing messages of self-efficacy. By delivering initial messages early and often a health agency can demonstrate the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) principles of Be First, Be Right, Be Credible, Show Respect, Express Empathy, and Promote Action. The chapter provides practical steps on how to write initial messages and provides quick response communication planning and implementation steps such as identifying communication objectives, audiences, key messages, and channels and developing communication products/materials. This chapter also includes key tips related to spokespeople, partner agecies, and call centers regarding ensuring message consistency during an emergency response. Uncertainty reduction theory is highlighted. A student case study analyzes the Flint Water Crisis using the CERC framework. Reflection questions are included at the end of the chapter.

COVID-19 revealed that sometimes health emergencies do not end in a few days, weeks, or months. Health agencies do not often respond to multiyear health emergencies, but when they do they need to be able to incorporate health communication campaigns within the maintenance phase of the health emergency. This inclusion of a health communication campaign within emergency risk communication and the maintenance phase of the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication framework has not been explicitly addressed in the emergency risk communication literature. This chapter adds knowledge to the field of emergency risk communication by outlining the importance of integrating health communication campaigns into multiyear emergency responses. This chapter looks at health communication campaign principles and how to use them when health emergencies linger in the maintenance phase for years. It also takes a deeper dive into theories that can support the development of emergency health communication campaigns. The case study looks at vaccine uptake based on the effectiveness of the of US COVID-19 "We Can Do This" health communication campaign. End-of-chapter reflection questions are included.

Spokespeople play a critical role during health emergencies in communicating credible, accurate, and actionable messages to the public. Effective spokespeople not only gain the public’s support during health emergencies but also personalize the health agency. Through professionalism, trustworthiness, authenticity, reliability, and clear communication, spokespeople build trust with the public each time they address the media or deliver a speech. This chapter describes the role of a spokesperson and why this role is critical to emergency response operations. It outlines ideal characteristics of a spokesperson including professionalism, experience working with the media, involvement with decision-making, trustworthiness, charisma, clarity of speech, and relatability. This chapter explains common spokesperson pitfalls and practical tips on how to avoid them. Media briefing and interview techniques on how to communicate effectively with the media are included. Agenda setting theory is described. A student case study uses the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication framework to analyze the communication of Dr. Nirav D. Shah, director of Maine’s Centers for Disease Control and Pevention, during the COVID-19 outbreak. End-of-chapter reflection questions are included.

Health emergencies create unique information needs for different audience segments. This chapter outlines the differences in information needs between the general public and the medical community. Information needs of the medical community relate to scientific guidance, data reporting, health risks, personal protective equipment, interventions, and treatments. By analyzing communications used during a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Clinical Outreach and Community Activity team webinar on COVID-19 vaccines, readers can identify the unique needs of the medical community. Epidemiologists and emergency risk communications can cocreate data-driven and actionable emergency messages when they collaborate. This chapter offers insights into how epidemiologists and emergency risk communicators can cocreate messages on health risks and interventions and leverage data graphics to help explain health risks to the public. The chapter also describes how health care practitioners can use and apply the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) framework within health care organizations to communicate to staff and patients. A student case study analyzes the US Ebola health emergency using the CERC framework. Reflection questions are included at the end of the chapter.