Sixth Futures Forum on crisis communication

Faced with a crisis, public health decision-makers have to be prepared not only for what to do but what to say. Communication directly influences how events evolve.

This report reviews five case studies of crisis communication: the dioxin crisis in Belgium, the avian flu alert in Austria, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) alert in Norway, the SARS crisis in Ontario and examples of health risk communication in the United Kingdom. It advises health executives how best to handle crisis communication and how to develop and maintain good communication channels between crises.

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