Citation

Becker SM. Health Phys. 2011; 101(5): 551-558.

Affiliation

Department of Environmental Health Science, and Disaster and Emergency Communication Research Unit, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Public Health, 1665 University Boulevard, Room 530, Birmingham, AL 35294-0022.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Health Physics Society, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/HP.0b013e318222ec5c

PMID

21979539

Abstract

It is now widely recognized that effective communication is a crucial element in radiological/nuclear terrorism preparedness. Whereas in the past, communication and information issues were sometimes viewed as secondary in comparison with technical concerns, today the need to improve risk communication, public information, and emergency messaging is seen as a high priority. The process of improving radiological/nuclear terrorism risk communication can be conceptualized as occurring in four overlapping phases. The first phase involves the recognition that communication and information issues will be pivotal in shaping how a radiological/nuclear terrorism incident unfolds and in determining its outcome. This recognition has helped shape the second phase, in which various research initiatives have been undertaken to provide an empirical basis for improved communication. In the third and most recent phase, government agencies, professional organizations and others have worked to translate research findings into better messages and informational materials. Like the first and second phases, the third phase is still unfolding. The fourth phase in risk communication for radiological/nuclear terrorism-a mature phase-is only now just beginning. Central to this phase is a developing understanding that for radiological/nuclear terrorism risk communication to be fully effective, it must go beyond crafting better messages and materials (as essential as that may be). This emerging fourth phase seeks to anchor radiological/nuclear communication in a broader approach: one that actively engages and partners with the public. In this article, each of the four stages is discussed, and future directions for improving radiological/nuclear terrorism risk communication are explored.

Language: en