Example Agenda for Half-Day Training in Risk Communication

For this course for a health care agency, I was asked to focus on health risk communication in the case of a bioterrorist attack to train public health leaders.

8:00     Introductions, overview, and logistics

8:05     What is risk communication

• Definition
• How risk communication differs from other forms of communication
• Outrage factors, spectrum from apathy to outrage and beyond into denial
• High-hazard, low-outrage versus low-hazard, high outrage
• Trust issues

8:30     Activity: list comments made by public during crises and identify issues

8:50     How risk communication strategies differ for different types of risks

• Care communication
• Consensus communication
• Crisis communication
• Difference between public relations and stakeholder relations

9:10     What can you do before an event

• Resolve barriers in your organization
• Deal with ethical issues
• Determine agency and staff roles and responsibilities
• Make communication part of your emergency planning

9:30     Activity: review barriers to effective risk communication and brainstorm ways an organization can remove the barrier

9:50     What can you do during an event

• Make it your responsibility to communicate
• Empower people to take charge
• Case Study?risk communication during anthrax scare

10:30     Break

11:00     What can you do after an event

• Educate internally and externally
• Evaluate and revise plans

Wrap up/questions/discussion

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