Communication and Trust: Keys for Building Resilience to 'Surprises' Such As Natural Disasters, Pandemic Flu and Terrorism

摘要

In times of public danger such as natural disasters and health emergencies, a country's communication systems can help make individuals and groups more resilient. A deep understanding of resilience gives important clues about what types of information people will need in the event of a surprise and how they need to get it. Research conducted for this paper confirms that the most one of the important variables in building communication systems for resilience is trust. Reports from a wide variety of crisis incidents are analyzed here, showing a correlation between trust and an organization's preparedness, it's internal coordination of crisis communication, and the effectiveness of leadership. In the final section, the paper offers specific suggestions for resilience communication that will be needed by individuals and groups in case of a surprise such as a pandemic flu, terrorist attack or natural disaster. This work made possible, in part, by a grant form the National Science Foundation.