1. Overview
In 2012, the Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division received requests
from three counties to develop emergency risk communication trainings. The
counties had already taken the CDC Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication
training and wanted something that was not as in-depth but gave them the
opportunity to hone their media skills. Additionally, the primary end user of CDC’s
CERC training is a public information officer
(PIO), but all health department staff should
be aware of their role during an emergency.
As a result, the Health Security, Preparedness
and Response Program created two trainings:
The PIO Refresher Course and the Frontline
Emergency Risk Communication training.
The PIO refresher course offered participants
the opportunity to practice media writing and
interaction skills within the context of a botulism
threat scenario. Participants wrote a press release
and talking points. Some even practiced speaking
and fielding questions on-camera.
The Frontline Training, developed for
administrative staff, focused on building skills
to address the public’s questions and concerns.
Participants were presented with an ever-expanding scenario and had to react
based on the information they had at the time. Each person engaged in role play
and fielded notional telephone calls from various members of the public and was
asked to develop appropriate responses.
Tailoring the trainings
Using community-based participatory research methods and constructivist learning theory, the
Health Security, Preparedness and Response (HSPR) program worked with three county health
departments to tailor the CDC CERC training to fit the county’s needs. Over the course of several
months, the HSPR Communications Team held conference calls and Skype sessions to learn what
the county wanted, review training materials and ultimately ensure the trainings fit the needs of the
county. Both trainings were scalable depending on the county’s available time, number of attendees
and the specific learning goals. The training, offered to administrative staff, ranged from an all-day
event to one-hour blitzes.
By the numbers
Burns Paiute Tribe
Clackamas County
Columbia County
Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation
Coos County
Training evaluation data
Tailoring emergency risk
communication trainings
to fit county needs
Kathleen G. Vidoloff, Ph.D., and Julie Black, M.Ed.
Crook County
Gilliam County
Grant County
Harney County
Hood River County
Jackson County
Josephine County
PUBLIC HEALTH DIVISION
Health Security, Preparedness and Response
(10/2012)
Tribes and Counties that participated in trainings
Klamath County
Lake County
Lane County
Linn County
Marion County
Morrow County
Polk County
Sherman County
Umatilla County
Union County
Washington County
Wasco County
Burns Paiute Tribe
Yamhill County
PIO Refresher course
This poster publication was supported by the Cooperative Agreement Number 1U90T000544-01 from the Center
for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily
represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Frontline training
224participants
Frontline Emergency
Risk Communication
participants
PIO Refresher Course6429emergency risk
communication
trainings