Crisis and Risk Approaches to Emergency Management Planning and Communication: The Role of Similarity and Sensitivity

Abstract

To advance crisis communication theory and research, this article features communities of concern as the focal point and examines whether multiple voices are best to supply crisis information, evaluation, and advice to make communities more fully functioning. A funded study was conducted (606 completed calls) in three counties in the Houston, Texas (Metropolitan Statistical Area) MSA. The project features these concepts: concern/perception of risk and knowledge of response protocols, risk management/communication, crisis management/communication (precrisis, crisis event, postcrisis), cognitive involvement, fear/denial/efficacy (self, response, and community), and communication infrastructures. The basic question addressed was whether a diverse community becomes more fully functioning by having community emergency management planning and communication (law of requisite variety) reflect that diversity. Results indicate that approximately half of the persons surveyed do not feel adequately prepared to respond during these emergencies. Of those who do, diverse voices (source similarity and message sensitivity) increase residents' sense of self, expert, and community preparedness. If citizens have access to information that is from sources similar to them and stated in messages that are sensitive to them, they feel more prepared to deal with crisis emergency response.