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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Jessica Elton, MA, Department of Communication, Purdue University, 100 N. University Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2098, Betsy Mitchell, PhD, MA, Emergency Communicaiton System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS D-40, Atlanta, GA 30333, Dave Daigle, MA, National Center for Infectious Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS C-19, Atlanta, GA 30333, 404-639-1143, drd4@cdc.gov, and Judith E. Courtney, MPS, MA, LPC, NC, Adult Psychotherapy, 5555 Glenridge Connector - Bldg. I, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30342.

In October 2004, an outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever began in Uige, Angola. Within months this quickly became the world's largest, most deadly Marburg outbreak. Due to the seriousness of the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) quickly intervened to assist in Angola's prevention efforts, and in March, 2005, the WHO requested the assistance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Several CDC public health workers were deployed to Angola, among them press officers, who were responsible for sharing information with the media. The limited resources available in Angola made the CDC press officer's job significantly more complicated, and in a effort to assist public health workers in the field, the CDC's Emergency Communication System Research Team began media monitoring activities to inform field staff of the dominant messages permeating the media. Using qualitative content analysis, the Research Team analyzed national and international newspaper coverage of the Marburg epidemic in Angola, and on a weekly basis shared common themes with CDC a press officer in the field. Several themes emerged from the content analysis, among them were communication barriers that resulted from public health directives conflicting with local traditions and the need for the support of local leadership in the public health response. This paper describes the major themes that emerged from the content analysis and discusses how this information assisted press officers in the field. Implications for overcoming communication barriers in future emergencies are explored.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Identify potential communication obstacles during public health emergencies.
• Describe how media monitoring of the popular press can help inform public health workers in the field.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered