The role of risk communication planning in the release of the oral rabies vaccine in New Jersey: An evaluation
- New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton, NJ (United States)
Communicating health risk information is a complicated task. Citizen reaction to such information is difficult to predict, which makes it hard to plan an appropriate response. Research indicates that the way citizens respond to risk information often depends on whether the risk is familiar or unfamiliar, whether it is seen as imposed on them, whether it is man made or natural, or whether they have control over the risk. Potentially controversial cases that deal with delivering risk information have a special need for a well planned communication effort. Natural resource issues with an impact on public health are no exception. In New Jersey, a proposal to release an experimental bioengineered oral rabies vaccine for raccoons to test the effectiveness of the vaccine in halting the spread of rabies into an as yet unaffected area met with widespread public support and approval due in large part to the use of a unique risk communication planning process. This paper will describe the risk communication planning process used to gain public support and approval for release of oral rabies raccoon vaccine while focusing on the evaluation component of the process. The seven step process includes setting goals, profiling the issue or information gathering, audience identification and assessment, message development, method selection, implementation of the strategy and evaluation and follow-up. The goal of the evaluation component was to determine the effectiveness of the public information campaign on citizen`s knowledge of the field trial nearly three years after the initial announcement. In addition, it sought to learn citizen interest in maintaining the rabies free barrier that was created by the field trial using funds from local taxes. This evaluation includes the results of a mailed survey to 280 citizens, local officials and professional organizations. Finally, this paper will discuss the implications for future outreach efforts dealing complicated technical issues.
- Research Organization:
- National Association of Environmental Professionals, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 125911
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9506115-; TRN: 95:006735-0005
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 20. National Association of Environmental Professionals annual conference and exposition: environmental challenges - the next twenty years, Washington, DC (United States), 10-13 Jun 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Environmental challenges: The next 20 years. Proceedings; PB: 932 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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