Wray Ricardo J, Becker Steven M, Henderson Neil, Glik Deborah, Jupka Keri, Middleton Sarah, Henderson Carson, Drury Allison, Mitchell Elizabeth W
Saint Louis University School of Public Health, St. Louis, MO, 63104, USA.
Am J Public Health. 2008 Dec;98(12):2214-22. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.107102. Epub 2008 Apr 1.
We sought to better understand the challenges of communicating with the public about emerging health threats, particularly threats involving toxic chemicals, biological agents, and radioactive materials.
At the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we formed an interdisciplinary consortium of investigative teams from 4 schools of public health. Over 2 years, the investigative teams conducted 79 focus group interviews with 884 participants and individual cognitive response interviews with 129 respondents, for a total sample of 1013 individuals. The investigative teams systematically compared their results with other published research in public health, risk communication, and emergency preparedness.
We found limited public understanding of emerging biological, chemical, and radioactive materials threats and of the differences between them; demand for concrete, accurate, and consistent information about actions needed for protection of self and family; active information seeking from media, local authorities, and selected national sources; and areas in which current emergency messaging can be improved.
The public will respond to a threat situation by seeking protective information and taking self-protective action, underlining the critical role of effective communication in public health emergencies.
我们试图更好地理解在向公众传达新出现的健康威胁，特别是涉及有毒化学物质、生物制剂和放射性物质的威胁方面所面临的挑战。
应疾病控制与预防中心的要求，我们组建了一个由4所公共卫生学院的调查团队组成的跨学科联盟。在两年多的时间里，调查团队对884名参与者进行了79次焦点小组访谈，并对129名受访者进行了个人认知反应访谈，样本总数为1013人。调查团队系统地将他们的结果与公共卫生、风险沟通和应急准备方面的其他已发表研究进行了比较。
我们发现公众对新出现的生物、化学和放射性物质威胁以及它们之间的差异了解有限；对关于保护自己和家人所需行动的具体、准确和一致信息有需求；积极从媒体、地方当局和选定的国家来源寻求信息；以及当前应急信息可以改进的领域。
公众会通过寻求防护信息和采取自我保护行动来应对威胁情况，这凸显了有效沟通在公共卫生紧急事件中的关键作用。
