Timothy L. Sellnow

CERC as a Theoretical Framework for Research and Practice

Health communicators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed an integrated model titled Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) as a tool to educate and equip public health professionals for the expanding communication responsibilities of public health in emergency situations. This essay focuses on CERC as a general theoretical framework for explaining how health communication functions within the contexts of risk and crisis. Specifically, the authors provide an overview of CERC and examine the relationship of risk communication to crisis communication, the role of communication in emergency response, and the theoretical underpinnings of CERC. The article offers an initial set of propositions based on the CERC framework and concludes with a discussion of future directions.

Terse Messaging and Public Health in the Midst of Natural Disasters: The Case of the Boulder Floods

Social media are quickly becoming the channel of choice for disseminating emergency warning messages. However, relatively little data-driven research exists to inform effective message design when using these media. The present study addresses that void by examining terse health-related warning messages sent by public safety agencies over Twitter during the 2013 Boulder, CO, floods. An examination of 5,100 tweets from 52 Twitter accounts over the course of the 5-day flood period yielded several key conclusions and implications. First, public health messages posted by local emergency management leaders are most frequently retweeted by organizations in our study. Second, emergency public health messages focus primarily on drinking water in this event. Third, terse messages can be designed in ways that include imperative/instructional and declarative/explanatory styles of content, both of which are essential for promoting public health during crises. These findings demonstrate that even terse messages delivered via Twitter ought to provide information about the hazard event, its impact, and actionable instructions for self-protection.

Instructional Messages During Health-Related Crises: Essential Content for Self-Protection

Mediated instructional messages have the potential to enhance individuals knowledge and self-efficacy to take self-protective actions during a food-related health crisis. This two-phased study used content analysis to examine the presence of instructions during an actual egg recall crisis (nu2009=u2009566 television broadcasts). Next, these messages were used in a pretest–posttest experiment to explore changes in participants (nu2009=u2009651) foodborne illness knowledge and self-efficacy after watching a standard media message or a high instruction media message. In general, actual broadcasts only provided self-protective instructions between 3% and 17% of the time. Standard messages slightly increased viewer knowledge, but decreased viewer efficacy. Conversely, the high instructional message significantly increased both knowledge and efficacy.

The Value of Instructional Communication in Crisis Situations: Restoring Order to Chaos

This article explores the nature of instructional communication in responding to crisis situations. Through the lens of chaos theory, the relevance of instructional messages in restoring order is established. This perspective is further advanced through an explanation of how various learning styles impact the receptivity of various instructional messages during the acute phase of crises. We then summarize an exploratory study focusing on the relationship between learning styles and the demands of instructional messages in crisis situations. We conclude the article with a series of conclusions and implications.

Reducing Organizational Risk through Participatory Communication

Reducing risk and averting crises are increasingly critical for organizations. This study was designed to identify strategies for workers to be mindful participants in their organizations attempts to maintain the safety and integrity of the food supply. After sequential explanatory and exploratory phases, multiple regression results indicated that sending information, influencing outcomes, receiving information, organizational openness, and foregrounding training explained a significant portion of the variance for organizational mindfulness. The findings suggest that participatory communication practices enact and sustain collective mindfulness and, thereby, reduce risk.

Complexities of Crisis Renewal Over Time: Learning from the Tainted Odwalla Apple Juice Case

This study examines the postcrisis experience of Odwalla, an organic juice and natural products company, following a 1996 E. coli outbreak. Specifically, the four consistent characteristics of renewal were observed in Odwallas extended recovery process. These characteristics include: provisional as opposed to strategic, prospective rather than retrospective, capitalizing on the opportunities embedded in the crisis, and renewal as a leader-based communication form. The study identified Odwallas initial success and the complexity-fraught extended recovery period that followed. Odwalla overcame these complexities with a consistent focus on renewal and an emphasis on the characteristics appropriate to meeting the extended recovery process shifting demands.

A Receiver‐Based Approach to Effective Instructional Crisis Communication

Much research has informed the development of a valuable series of sender‐focused best practices for effective crisis communication. Relatively little crisis communication research, however, focuses on receiver‐focused best practices as related to eliciting appropriate actions before, during and after crisis events. Because effective instructional communication is measured by learner (i.e., receiver) outcome achievement of affective (perceived value), cognitive (comprehension) and behavioural (performance) variables, this study examined perceived message effectiveness and behavioural intention using the IDEA model of instructional risk and crisis communication. Results of this comparative quasi‐experimental study revealed that messages integrating all elements of the IDEA model were more effective than status quo messages and point to the need for continued research on effective instructional crisis communication message design.

Expanding the Scope of Instructional Communication Research: Looking Beyond Classroom Contexts

The bulk of instructional communication research to date examines communication among teachers and students in conventional classroom contexts. Although past and present research is prolific and informative, it is also somewhat limiting. With a specific unifying focus on affective, cognitive, and behavioral learning as outcome variables, we begin this article with a brief history of instructional communication research, as well as examples of research and practice in conventional classroom settings. We then outline, review, and explain four distinct contexts where we believe future instructional communication research and practice is likely to be fruitful: risk and crisis situations, technology-enhanced environments, digital games, and forensics education.

Crisis communication, learning and responding

As noted by Seeger (2006) the notion of best practices is often use to improve professional practice; to create research and functional recommendations to use in a specific situation. This essay describes best practices in crisis communication specifically through the use of social media. It provides suggestions and approaches for improving the effectiveness of crisis communication and learning with and between organizations, governments and citizens. Seven best practices for effective crisis communication using social media are outlined. Research on social media and crisis communication is synthesized.Results from experiments and applied research are discussed.Best practices for crisis communication are offered.

A network analysis of official Twitter accounts during the West Virginia water crisis

Online networks using Web 2.0 technologies have proven useful for communication among all parties involved in managing crises. These networks rapidly disseminate information allowing for coordination among organizations responding to the needs of those whose safety and wellbeing are threatened by the crisis and its aftermath. This study provides a network analysis of official Twitter accounts activated during the Charleston, West Virginia, water contamination crisis in 2014. The citys water supply was rendered unfit for drinking or bathing after 7500 gallons of a toxic chemical leaked into the Elk River. The network created by the 41 Twitter accounts associated with the West Virginia water contamination lacked density, contained several isolates, exchanged information quickly (geodesic distance diameter), and contained both national and local accounts. The lack of density indicates limited exchange of information, particularly between national and federal accounts. The rapid dissemination of the information that was shared and the fact that some accounts did bridge the local and national gap, however, show the positive potential for such networks in responding to crises. We analyzed a Twitter network of 41 accounts related to the W.V. water crisis.We examined the network in the context of rapid dissemination of info in a crisis.The networks density is lower than ideal from a crisis communication perspective.There are 2 factions: national level organizations and W.V. organizations.