Target-group oriented communication in the context of an outbreak of a new pandemic influenza

1. VANESSA KENFAK
TARGETED HEALTH COMMUNICATION

2. CONTEXT
 Reputed luxury hotel in a ski resort,
 Peak winter season,
 Outbreak of a new pandemic influenza,
 Major impact on the workplace,
 Anticipated outcome of up to 40-50% of the
workforce absent from work.
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3. OBJECTIVES
 Protect health and safety at work,
 Limit contagion,
 Gain support from the management and the
staff,
 Enhance health knowledge,
 Create health informed decision making,
 Encourage appropriate health behaviors,
 Ensure a consistent message.
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4. MESSENGER
Occupational health specialist as
communication coordinator/project manager in
collaboration with :
 Staff representative participation
 Communication experts to improve situation-
specific channels.
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5. TARGET AUDIENCES
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Extended
population
Customers,
suppliers
Staff,
Management

6. TARGET AUDIENCES
Primary audience : Staff
 Gender: men and women,
 Age :18-53 years,
 Mostly experienced
 Large number of Young seasonal workers,
 Trust in management team,
 Family spirit,
 Reliable.
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7. TARGET AUDIENCES
Secondary audience: Top management, Senior
managers
 Gender : men and women,
 Age : 34 – 60 years
 Mostly educated and experienced.
 Family spirit (since three generations)
 Committed to sustainable development
(International ‘’Travelife Gold" certificate)
 Corporate culture based on excellence, skill and
team work
 Community culture
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8. TARGET AUDIENCES
Tertiary audience:
 Clients,
 Subcontractors, Suppliers etc…
 Extended population
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9. CONTEXTUAL FACTORS
Management concerns
 Potential financial losses , cessation of activity,
decrease productivity,
 Disorganization of services (sick leaves,
absenteeism, lack of staff),
 Bad publicity , Reputation/image of cleanliness
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10. CONTEXTUAL FACTORS
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Management preconceived ideas
 Prevention only requires respecting basic hygiene
rules already known by the employees.
 Hand Hygiene is a matter of individual
responsibility.
 Aubin Hotel is ‘’more than clean’’.
 Transmission of the flu is mostly interpersonal.
 Staff must continue to work as long as possible for
the good of the business.
 Additional preventive measures are useless and
costly.

11. CONTEXTUAL FACTORS
Staff concerns
 Their own health and safety (potential exposure to
bacteria/viruses in the workplace).
 The wellbeing of their colleagues , clients , and
relatives
 Their ability to work and earn money (especially
seasonal workers).
 Potential extra hours to compensate for the
absence of colleagues.
 Lack of time.
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12. CONTEXTUAL FACTORS
Staff preconceived ideas
 Only people with symptoms are contagious.
 People in good general condition cannot
disseminate the infection since they are not sick.
 Avoiding contact with ill people and washing
hands with soap and water as often as possible
is sufficient if they have the time during their
normal duties.
 Risk of catching the flu is mostly prejudicial to
children and the elderly
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13. PERSUASIVE ELEMENTS
 Factual informations and scientific proofs with
baseline risk.
 Appeal to beliefs, culture, and concerns (quality
of service , reputation, solidarity, wellbeing,
safety)
 Effective fear, referring to the severity of the
threat , and vulnerability of the target individuals
 Perception of self-efficacy
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14. KEY MESSAGES
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A reputed hotel will never be as clean as if it were sterile.
Hydro-alcoholic hygiene is more effective than hand
washing with soap against flu viruses’ dissemination under
your roof.
Managemen
t
Flu could spread to nearly half of the workforce. Sick
employees should stay at home to preserve workplace
environment, colleagues, and customers.
Staff
Whatever your age, you may feel fine but already be
contagious. Let us protect one another from flu spread
through quick and frequent disinfection.

15. KEY MESSAGES
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Flu virus can survive an infect a person after being
deposited on a surface. Hand disinfection is quick and
effective to stay healthy or avoid transmission to your
entourage.
Staff
All together we can preserve our workplace from flu
spread. Get vaccinated to stay health and protect your
entourage from transmission.
No message.
A message about the spread flu risks indoor could create
panic or carry an insalubrious image, prejudicial to the
reputation of the hotel.
Public

16. SUPPORTING FACTS
Anticipated outcome of up to 40-50% of the workforce absent from work.
Investing in Alcoholic Hydro products will certainly cost less than the
closure of the establishment due to lack of staff or harming their
reputation. The hotel is much frequented, realizing important benefits
during the winter.
Hotel employees are more susceptible than most workers to transmitted
illnesses because of the transient nature of the environment in which they
work. Hotel rooms represent a potential source of community-acquired
infections and the need for enhanced sanitation practices1 .
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17. SUPPORTING FACTS
Hydro alcoholic Friction is the most effective method of eliminating flora
from the hands. The active ingredients of hydro alcoholic products have an
excellent virucidal activity in vitro, including against encapsulated viruses
such as influenza 2. Reduction of hand contamination, regardless of the
alcoholic product tested, is always superior to that of a hand washing,
made with antiseptic soap or mild soap, with equal contact time 3,4.
The contagious people sneeze and thus project tiny droplets into the air up
to 2 meters 5.
A person with the flu virus is contagious 48 hours before the onset of the
first symptoms and remains contagious until 48 hours after the end of the
symptoms 6.
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18. SUPPORTING FACTS
Influenza pandemics can lead to high levels of illness, deaths, social
disruption and economic losses 7.
Hotel employee may accumulate germs on hands from a variety of
sources, such as contaminated surfaces or direct contact whith people .
Because of the transient nature of the work environment germs can be left
regularly on door knobs, room keys, registration cards, menus, toilet
handles, signed guest checks, glassware, car keys in valet parking
situations, cash gratuities… etc. Influenza virus can survive and possibly
infect a person after being deposited on a surface9.
Influenza viruses survive up to 5 minutes on hands, 8-12 hours on tissue
paper and tissues, and 24-48 hours on hard surfaces such as a phone, a
handful of Door, dishes or a stair ramp 10 .
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19. SUPPORTING FACTS
Availability of materials improves the use of hand hygiene disinfectants12.
Pocket bottles of disinfectant have been shown to be part of a successful
campaign for improvement of hand hygiene compliance13.
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20. INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
TOOLS
 Leaflets, flyers, notice boards and posters as
reminder materials in common areas
 Emails (interpersonal network),
 Community meetings /information days .
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21. EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION
TOOLS
 Wall dispensers and pocket sized hand sanitizer
bottles).
- For guests in the rooms, at the front desk,
near restaurant areasand elevators.
- For suppliers near back offices and service
entrance.
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22. EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION
TOOLS
 Press release : published on the hotel website and sent to press
distributors, press portals, and thematic portals.
13.12.2018
For immediate release
Facing outbreak of the pandemic flu,one luxury hotel fights
back
Grindewald , Switzerland, 13.12.2018 – The Hotel St Aubin is
committed to block the dissemination of the new pandemic
influenza, by putting at the disposal of everyone, effective protection
and prevention measures.
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23. In a season, influenza which is highly contagious is responsible for about
1000 to 5000 hospitalizations and up to 1500 deaths in Switzerland.
Winter holidays are an opportunity for relatives to meet; they are also a
particularly favorable moment for the diffusion of epidemic specially in
gathering places such as hotels. For certain people (such as infants, the
elderly, pregnant women and people suffering from chronic diseases), its
course may lead to serious complications.
A new pandemic influenza is now underway in our canton. According to
experts, this new flu has the capacity to immobilize up to 50% of the
workforce of the hotel St Aubin if nothing is done. In this context the health
services of this institution, immediately initiated an awareness campaign
as well as measures of prevention and control of the flu spread.In
particular, staffs, were recommended get vaccinated and to adopt frequent
hand disinfection as a preferential barrier measure.Disinfecting solutions
usually used by medical staff have also been made available in the rooms,
near restaurants and lifts for hotel guests.
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EXTERNALCOMMUNICATION
TOOLS

24. The reduction of the contamination of the hands with hydro-alcoholic
disinfectants being superior to that of a hand washing, made with
antiseptic soap or mild soap, with equal contact time.
While these actions may not prevent all additional cases, the
management hopes they may reduce the number of persons exposed
to the outbreak strain of influenza in our community. In this time of
solidarity, they urge all members of our community to be particularly
vigilant about their health and that of their loved ones. It is important to
emphasize that according to Health officials, recommendations may
change during the course of an influenza pandemic. For more
information on pandemic influenza, visit federal office of public health
Websites at www.bag.admin.ch or www.pandemia.ch
- ENDS –
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Vanessa KENFAK, OHS, M.D
Phone: 00 000 00 00 00, Fax: 00 000 00 00 00
Email: vankenfak@0000.com
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EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION
TOOLS

25. APPENDIX : References
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How better availability of materials improved hand-hygiene
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