6 - A Social Marketing Perspective on Disaster Preparedness - Michael Newland

 Michael Newland

Reference:

Guion, D., Scammon, D., & Borders, A. L. (2007). Weathering the Storm: A Social Marketing Perspective on Disaster Preparedness and Response with Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Vol 26 Issue 1, Pg. 20-32.

Theme:

The lessons that we learned from Hurricane Katrina taught us that a social marketing approach to disaster management could increase the likelihood of positive outcomes for individuals and communities when a disaster strikes.

Summary:

·         Katrina suggests that improved preparedness for and response to disasters requires behavior changes on the part of residents in the disaster area and emergency management organizations.

·         The basic four-phase model of disaster management includes: Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.

·         Because natural disasters are so unpredictable mitigation mostly takes place with preemptive measures. Local, State, and Federal governments establish and enforce rules and regulations to achieve agreed on plans. “Mass media can play a critical role during the mitigation phase because media coverage contributes to the formation of public attitudes, which in turn influence legislative actions.”

·         During the preparedness phase, we focus on reducing the negative consequences of disasters. We aim to encourage people to make choices about protective behaviors and monitoring compliance with community plans. “Community education is an important goal of preparedness, and thus the media are essential partners in this phase of disaster management.”

·         During the response phase emergency teams make every effort to: Provide short-term disaster relief, rescue victims, and to provide shelter. Coordination between the many different agencies is vital. “Information is an important key to coordination, and the mass media play a major role in disseminating such information during this phase and the next.”

·         During the recovery phase, public organizations start to restore social systems and rebuild physical environments. “An important role of the media during the recovery phase is communicating information about available assistance.”

·         We learned a lot about disaster response and the media from Hurricane Katrina. “The media presence during Hurricane Katrina allowed the world not only to see the atrocities experienced by the evacuees but also to see clearly and repeatedly the contradictions and failings by all levels of government.”

Application to the lesson topic:

The media and disaster preparedness/response goes hand in hand. The media plays a crucial role to both the public and response agencies. It allows for massive amounts of information to be passed relatively easily.

Application to emergency services:

During disaster emergency services agencies may need to know more information just like the public. The media allows emergency services personnel to learn more about the crisis so that they can do a better job of continuing their relief efforts.

4 - Ready for disaster? - Chris Schippers

References:

Holland, R. J., & Gill, K. (2006). Ready for disaster? (Cover story). Communication World, 23(2), 20-24.

Theme: This article discusses the results of a survey of more than 600 IABC members to show that communication plans are not as common as they should be.

Summary:

·         A survey of IABC members reveals that crisis communication plans are not as widespread as expected.

·         More than likely a third of the most organizations are not prepared for a disaster of crisis to occur because they don't have a formal crisis communication plan.

·         Communicators who were prepared with a plan and used it found it effective 99% of the time.

·         The survey is given at a right time to gauge the extent to which organizations have developed and used crisis communication plans, and whether the plans are worth the time and effort to create.

·         Poor planning after Hurricane Katrina was noticed on a global scale and damaged the United States' reputation.

·         Organizational crises open the door for communicators to demonstrate their skills in planning as well as tactical execution.

·         Attacks on September 11, 2001 served as a wake-up call to company leaders.

·         Just under half of the communicators whose organizations experienced a crisis with no plan are actually doing something about it and the other half aren't taking any action.

·         The survey also revealed good news about the integration of crisis communication plans into organizations' overall crisis response and business resumption plans.

·         The article discusses an 11 step process of developing a crisis communication plan.

Application to the Lesson Topic: 

This article details with statics from a survey the critical importance of a need for planning and preparation for a crisis.  By having this plan in place the organization or people who are affected will communicate more efficiently and recovery will be much easier.

Application to Emergency Services:

This of course relates to emergency services because it is exactly what emergency personnel are trained to do, have a plan and respond to the crisis according to that plan by following SOP's.  Planning and communication go hand-in-hand.  There needs to be a plan when responding to an emergency and the plan needs to be communicated to every emergency personnel involved for the plan to work.

Lesson 3 - Nurse leaders in Katrina - Michael Newland

 Reference: Danna, D., Bernard, M., Schaubhut, R., & Mathews, P. (2010). Experiences of Nurse Leaders Surviving Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Nursing & Health Sciences, Vol. 12, Issue 1, pg 9 -13.

Theme:

Nurses are in leadership positions before, during, and after any disaster. Nurses during Hurricane Katrina showed bravery and compassion when treating hurricane victims.

Summary:

Michael Newland

·         Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and surrounding areas in late August 2005.

·         It was declared the worst natural disaster in our Nation’s history.

·         When preparing for the incoming hurricane hospital staff members were told to bring enough food and water for themselves and family members for 3 days. This was not enough because they were forced to stay in the hospital for longer than that.

·         During the hurricane nurses worked together to provide emergency care to increasing amounts of wounded. They were forced to treat patients in many unconventional areas like parking garages and stairwells.

·         Housing in hospitals during the disaster was problematic. Nursing directors coordinated the process of registration and placement of staff, family, physicians, and visitors into sleeping areas.

·         The hurricane knocked out communication between hospitals and other outside agencies. This left it up to nurses to try to coordinate any evacuation efforts.

·         The city’s emergency preparedness command center was overwhelmed with evacuation requests. Many hospitals were forced to use their own resources for evacuation efforts. Many staff members had to get on roof tops to try and flag down emergency helicopters and boats for evacuation.

·         Many nurses found themselves in the role of both caretaker and victim. They had to provide treatment for victims as well as try to remain calm and provide leadership at the same time during the chaos of Katrina.

·         Nursing leaders assumed many roles and functions including organization and coordination, creativity, spontaneity and flexibility, patient advocacy and assertiveness, teamwork, camaraderie, and support for staff members and each other.

Application to the lesson topic:

            Leadership during a disaster can take many forms it doesn’t just have to be a high ranking figure like the Governor of the State or the President. Leadership during a disaster is essential. Without leadership things can and will go from bad to worse in a heartbeat. The nurses and doctors during Hurricane Katrina did a phenomenal job of not only providing treatment for victims but leadership as well. Without them there would have been even more casualties because there would have been too much chaos.

Application to emergency services:

            Natural disasters are extremely chaotic. Emergency services personnel must remain calm and show poise during these disasters. Providing treatment can be extremely difficult during these times. It is up to the emergency services to provide care and treatment during this extreme pressure. Without emergency services there would be little hope of recovering from disasters like Hurricane Katrina.

Analysis of Media Agenda Setting During and After Hurricane Katrina: Implications for Emergency Preparedness, Disaster Response, and Disaster Policy

Joseph Galbraith

Reference: Barnes, M, PhD, Hanson, C. Novilla, N., Meacham, A. McIntyre, E.

(2008). Analysis of Media Agenda Setting During and After Hurricane Katrina: Implications for Emergency Preparedness, Disaster Response, and Disaster Policy. American Journal of Public Health. Pgs 604-610

Theme: The media has the ability to shape public perception during and after a disaster which in turn can affect public policy.

Summary:

• Statistical analysis was conducted on four prominent newspapers on the Hurricane Katrina Disaster.

• Most of the news stories focused on response as opposed to preparedness.

• The federal government was the focus of blame rather than the individual citizens.

• The efforts of public health officials and practitioners to market preparedness through the media is not a priority for the news outlets before the disaster.

•78% of the news stories focused on response and recovery.  8.9% focused mitigation and preparation.

• 40% of the articles focused on accountability of the federal government.  13.8% attributed blame to the individual citizens.

• The overwhelming negative tone expressed towards the federal government's response forced government officials to consider policy changes.

Application to the lesson topic:

The media can play a large role in the shaping of public opinion which will in turn force policy makers to consider changes.  The agenda of the media can produce bias and sometimes false information.

Application to emergency services:

In emergency services we have to learn how to use the media to our advantage.  We must know how to market our product using the media.  This relationship starts well before the disaster using our information officers.  We must also understand the agenda and goals of the particular media outlet that we are dealing with.  Sometimes we have no choice but to play to their agenda in order to push out information in times of crisis.