Overview

Crisis and emergency risk communication is the attempt by science or public health professionals to provide information that allows an individual, stakeholders or an entire community, to make the best possible decisions about their well-being, under nearly impossible time constraints, and to communicate those decisions, while accepting the imperfect nature of their choices.

In the months since 9/11, the CDC has grappled with a variety of its own communication challenges and as a result, formulated strategies to build and enhance capacity in Emergency Risk Communication at the local, state and federal level.

Drawing from lessons learned from the anthrax crisis, as well as best practices from the fields of both risk and crisis communication, the CDC has moved forward in meeting the needs of both partners and stakeholders in preparing for, responding to and recovering from the threat of bioterrorism and emergent diseases, by developing a comprehensive training program.

Training Curricula and Tools

The CDC's training curricula both brings the novice up to speed and helps the seasoned professional hone his or her skills in Emergency Risk Communication.

The course offerings include:

Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC): 1, 1 1/5, or 2-day class focused on information surrounding an intense public health emergency as well as the psychology of Risk Communication.

CDCynergy: Emergency Risk Communication Edition (ERC-Direct Users): 4-day direct users class on how to use this valuable tool for creating and using an Emergency Risk Communication plan.

CDCynergy: Emergency Risk Communication Edition Train-the-Trainer (ERC-TTT): 5-day class for those who already understand most of the basic principles of Risk Communication and need to train others using CDCynergy: ERC.

Face the Media Training: 1-day class for those who want hands-on media training.

CERC, CDCynergy: ERC-Direct Users, and CDCynergy: ERC-TTT all meet Focus Area F requirements.

Scheduling

For scheduling information, contact Chad Wood (CRWood@cdc.gov) for the CERC course or Judith Courtney (JECourtney@cdc.gov) for the CDCynergy and Face the Media courses.