Pandemic Influenza Communications Exercise

This simulation exercise, adapted from material of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, on risk and outbreak communication for pandemic influenza, was originally used in the Pan American Health Organization's (PAHO's) Sub-regional Communication Workshop held in Bogota, Colombia. The simulation, in MS PowerPoint format, presents a day-by-day suppositional scenario of a pandemic outbreak accompanied by guided discussion at various stages of the theoretical outbreak. A facilitator's guide for group discussions accompanies the exercise.

The presentation opens with a bulleted list including the issue of preparation for communication in a pandemic virus scenario, the purposes of communication in that circumstance, the objectives of the simulation, and the background documents available, including the World Health Organization (WHO) Outbreak Communication Guidelines, the WHO Handbook for Journalists, and four crisis communication guides. It then sets the scenario of a group of communicators from various ministries who have been meeting regularly as a network for the purpose of communication exchange on avian influenza and pandemic preparedness. As the scenario builds, rumours and then a worldwide outbreak occur, along with public and governmental reaction. At 4 points in the building of the scenario, group discussions on communication occur, stimulated by questions from the presentation.

The Facilitator’s Guide and Lessons Learned, available in English and Spanish versions, duplicates the bulleted list of the issue, the objectives of the simulation, and the background documents available. It then sets the scenario and gives questions for 4 group discussions with facilitator's notes.

Sample questions from the 4 discussions are: • Which entities within your national government have the lead roles with respect to coordination and information at this time? What does your communications office need to do to contribute to and help ensure effective coordination of public messaging? • What parts of the WHO Outbreak Communication Guidelines did you use? What are the basic risk communications messages to deliver? Who will/should deliver the message? • What channels of communication have you chosen to use? • What gaps are evident in information production and, especially, in coordination? What do your ministries communicators need to do to engage more closely with the planned pandemic response activities?

Click here to access the PAHO Risk and Outbreak Communications webpage, which contains links to the English and the Spanish versions of both the Simulation Exercise in Microsoft PowerPoint format and the Facilitators notes in MS Word format.