142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Risk Communication around Disasters: The Importance of Environmental Health Literacy

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 11:30 AM - 11:50 AM

Marilyn Howarth, MD , Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Some disasters occur with regularity (oil spills, hurricanes, tornados) while others are completely unpredictable. Communication in the setting of a disaster or emergency is intended to provide essential information in order to mitigate effects and motivate people to make appropriate decisions. The environmental health literacy of the affected population will impact their ability to receive, assimilate and act on safety and health information provided during disasters.[1] In addition, affected environmental justice communities may have unique challenges in receiving communications (language barriers, lack of cultural appropriateness, lack of internet) and acting on them (lack of resources).   The inability of the public to assess environmental health information can lead to excessive fear and panic which can interfere with constructive action.   The World Health Organization has recommended preparing disaster messages in advance whenever feasible.[2]  However, having pre- prepared messages may not help community members lacking in the appropriate level of environmental health literacy. Strategies to enhance environmental health literacy prior to acute disaster events and in the midst of them will be discussed.

[1]Rundblad G, Knapton O, Hunter PR: Communication, perception and

behaviour during a natural disaster involving a ‘Do Not Drink’ and

subsequent ‘Boil Water’ notice: a postal questionnaire study. BMC Public

Health 2010, 10:641.

[2] Medford-Davis LN, Kapur GB: Preparing for effective communications during disasters: lessons from a World Health Organization quality improvement project. J. Emer Med 2014,7:15 http://www.intjem.com/content/7/1/15

Learning Areas:

Environmental health sciences
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Compare and contrast the disaster circumstances where pre-prepared messages may and may not be useful. Assess the value of enhancing health literacy of vulnerable populations in anticipation of disaster circumstances. Describe how community outreach and engagement networks can be utilized to effectively enhance environmental health literacy in the midst of a disaster

Keyword(s): Communication, Disasters

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Marilyn Howarth is an Occupational and Environmental Medicine physician with 25 years of experience in hazard communication. She has worked in this capacity with individual patients, organizations and companies. She is the Director of Community Outreach and Engagement for the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology, an NIEHS Environmental Health Sciences Core Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3139.0: Environmental Health Literacy-An emerging and important field for environmental public health