AnatGesserEdelsburg,PhD

1
, RonitEndevelt,RD,MSc,PhD
1
,YaaraTiroshKamienchick,RD,BSc
1
1 SchoolofPublicHealth,HaifaUniversity,Haifa,Israel

Objective
TELLME(TransparentcommunicationinEpidemics:
LearningLessonsfromexperience,deliveringeffective
Messages,providingEvidence)isaEuropean
Commissionfunded,collaborativeprojectthathas
systematicallyreviewedexistingevidencetodevelop
practicalguidance,onlinetoolsandmodelsforimproved
riskandcrisiscommunicationduringpandemics.
Methods
Results
Conclusion
TransformingthedynamicsofEmergingInfectiousDisease
(EID)communication:Aninnovativeintegrativeframework
www.tellmeproject.eu
AnatGesserEdelsburg
1
*,YaffaShirRaz
2
,NathanWalter
2
,EmilioMordini
3
,DimitrisDimitriou
4
andManfredS.Green
1
1.SchoolofPublicHealth,UniversityofHaifa,199AbaKhoushy Ave.MountCarmel,Haifa3498838,Israel
2.DepartmentofCommunication,UniversityofHaifa,199AbaKhoushy Ave.MountCarmel,Haifa3498838,Israel
3.ResponsibleTechnologySAS,12ruedeIaChaussee d'Antin,75009,Paris,France
4.Zadig communication,informationandeducationinscience,viaArezzo21,00161,Roma,Italy
*CorrespondingAuthor
HeadofSchoolofPublicHealth,UniversityofHaifa,199AbaKhoushy Ave.MountCarmel,Haifa3498838,Israel
FormoreinformationontheTELLME
projectortoaccesstheguidance
documentsandtools,pleasegoto
www.tellmeproject.eu
Thisprojecthasreceivedfunding
fromtheEuropeanUnions
SeventhFrameworkProgramme for
research,technological
developmentanddemonstration
undergrantagreementno278723
ThisEIDcommunicationintegrativeframeworkaskshow
toincorporatenotionsoftwowaycommunication,
uncertaintyandtransparency;andhowtoharnessthe
potentialofsocialmedia.Itisaimedmainlyatlocallevel
healthorganizations,whichoftenlackadequate"maps"
forEIDcommunication.
Buildinguponexistingtextbooksofoutbreak
communication,andidentifyinggapsandmisconceptions
ofpandemiccommunicationcampaigns,itsuggestthatin
ordertosucceedweneedtoadoptamultilayeredpublic
healthperspectivethatisawareoftechnological,cultural
andsocialchanges.
Weproposeatheorydrivenframeworkincorporatingkey
componentsfromcultureandcommunicationstudies
intothewidercontextofthecommunicationprocess
(publicsphere,segmentation,massmedia,socialmedia,
opinionleaders,researchandstakeholders).Each
componentisdiscussedseparately,andthen
amalgamatedintoonecommunicationintegrative
framework,emphasizingitsuniquepositioninthe
dynamicalnatureofpublichealthcrises.
Thesignificanceoftheproposedriskcommunication
frameworkisthatitintegratesrelevantconceptsand
theorieswithapracticalapproach.Thecontributionof
thisframeworkisthatitcanbeadaptedtomanyspecific
risksituationsthroughsimulationsinwhichtheideascan
bedevelopedintoconcreteplans.
TELLMEFrameworkModel
KeyComponents
1 ThePublicSphere
Ourframeworkrefocusesthecenterofcommunicationtothepublicsphere,whichistherefore
representedatitsheart.Communicationevolvesfromwithinthepublicsphere,andthereforemust
takeintoaccountanindepthunderstandingofit.Thisiswherecommunicationoccursandwhere
othercomponentsoractorsoperate(e.g.stakeholders,opinionleaders,andsocialandmass
media).Thisiswhereconceptsliketransparency,riskperception,collectivememory,trustand
ethicscomeintoplay.
2 Segmentation
Onaconceptuallevel,segmentationcanaidinunderstandingthepublicinordertoreachit.Itis
crucialtocarryoutsegmentationbecauseofdifferencesbetweengroupsofpeopleand
segmentationhelps"tailor"themessage.
3 MassMedia
Thepresentdaymediamaphasundergonearevolution,transformingitsroleinoutbreak
communication,includingthepotentialfortwowaycommunication.Massmediashouldvoice
publicconcerns,whiletheorganizationsshouldprovideconvincingresponsestomitigateongoing
concerns.
4 SocialMedia
Includesdifferenttypesofchannels,includingInternetforums,socialblogs,socialnetworks,
weblogs,wikisandpodcasts.Eachchannelhasdifferentfeaturesandsometimestargetsaspecific
audience.Althoughsocialmediaisbeingadoptedbyinternationalandlocalhealthorganizations,
theyuseitprimarilyasachanneltodistributeinformation,ratherthancapitalizingonthe
interactivityavailabletocreateconversationsandengagewiththeaudience.
5 OpinionLeaders
Opinionleadersaretrustworthymembersofoursocialnetworkwhodonotnecessarilyholdan
officialleadershipposition.Whiletheymaybecommunityorreligiousleaders,theycanalsobe
charismaticlaypeople neighbors,friendsorcolleagues whoseabilitytoengageandinfluence
othersputstheminapositiontodistillinformationfromthemassmedia,andpassalongthe
condensedversionthroughanadditionalfilterofsubjectivity.
6 Research
Researchentailsnotonlyevaluatingprovaccinationcampaignsandconductingepidemiological
surveillance,butalsobuildingpublicprofilesthroughqualitativeandquantitativestudies
pinpointingdifferentsubpopulationsandidentifyingdifferenttrendsinpublicdiscourse,orthe
publicsphere.Accordingtotheframeworkwesuggest,researchshouldinitiateandshape
discourse,andthenhelptoshapecampaignsandpolicies.
7
Stakeholders
Governmentandinstitutionalactors(policymakers)
Pharmaceuticalindustryandcommerce
Communitybasedpublicinstitutionsandinfrastructure
Civilsocietyorganizations
TheDynamicsofTellMe FrameworkModel
Thefocusofthenewmodelisconstructedthroughfour
phases(Interpandemic,Alert,PandemicandTransition)
whichencouragenationalandinternationalauthoritiesto
reacttodifferentriskassessments.