CDC praises crisis communicators

The Centers for Disease Control on Wednesday detailed the valuable work its crisis communicators do during disease outbreaks, natural disasters, biological threats and other disaster-related incidents.

Crisis communicators work primarily through detailed plans and outlined goals, all of which are subject to change as a situation develops. To ensure proper communication when disasters strike, communicators rely heavily on partner engagement, develop messages for specific audiences and use targeted messages. Additionally, they focus on developing relationships with established community organizations, building relationships with spokespersons who are familiar with affected groups and targeting at-risk populations.

Communicators typically use any information available to measure whether messages are reaching the right people at the proper times. By monitoring and analyzing web traffic, communicators can identify important information that is missing, rumors that should be addressed and the impact that communication has on the public’s response to the disaster.

As part of its global outreach, crisis communicators focused on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. By creating more than 500 distinct communication materials, including infographics, tutorials and guidance documents, communicators have helped people understand how to protect themselves and their families from the disease.