From Social Science Research to Engineering Practice: Development of a Short Message Creation Tool for Wildfire Emergencies

Abstract

During imminent threat emergencies, an authorities' ability to communicate with the public and provide them with timely and accurate information is imperative. Wireless emergency alerts (WEAs) sent via the integrated public alert and warning system are short message alerts that authorities can send to devices in specific geographical regions during times of imminent threat. These messages give authorities the ability to distribute important information in a timely manner to those who need it most. In September 2016, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to strengthen the WEA system, including increasing the character limit of WEAs from 90c. to 360c. for 4G LTE and newer devices. Implemented in December 2019, the additional 270c. provide authorities with an opportunity to share supplemental and clarifying information in WEA messages. Current research regarding best practices for creating short message alerts was reviewed and analyzed to develop evidence-based guidance, and in turn, create a tool that, with only fifteen user-prompts, can be used to rapidly create effective and informative wildfire evacuation messages of up to 360c. A message creator can use this tool by selecting or entering responses to each of the fifteen prompts. This article presents a bridge between social science research on short message alert effectiveness and the practical generation of messages during imminent threat emergencies. Future research is proposed to develop this tool for purposes other than evacuation, for hazards other than wildfires, and for systems other than WEA (e.g., mass notification systems).

Exploring whether wireless emergency alerts can help impede the spread of Covid‐19

“…Researchers have outlined a theoretical and applied communication research agenda for mobile public warning messages that involve studying (a) how hazard‐related information can best be communicated in short messages, (b) how a map or other location‐related information might be included, (c) how messages can be configured and disseminated to minimize delay time and maximize personalization, and (d) how contextual and message receiver factors influence mobile public warning reception, comprehension, and response (Bean et al, 2015 ; National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine, 2018 ; Wood et al, 2018 ). These themes have also been taken up in the growing body of literature concerning ‘terse’ warning messages, a category of risk communication that includes both WEA messages and social media messages (Doermann et al, 2020 ; Kim et al, 2019 ; Sutton, Gibson, et al, 2015 ; Sutton, League, et al, 2015 ).…”

“…Importantly for this study, Doermann et al ( 2020 ) recently proposed a short message creation tool for wildfire emergencies, which is a type of rapid WEA message generator. The authors reviewed 33 research publications regarding short alert message best practices to develop evidence‐based guidance and a tool that officials can use to rapidly create informative and effective 360‐character wildfire evacuation WEA messages.…”

“…Research concerning the use of WEA messages to warn at‐risk publics typically focuses on correlations between message attributes (i.e., source, hazard, guidance, timeframe, location, style, and map and URL inclusion) and recipients' interpretations (i.e., comprehension, belief, and personalization) and behavioural intentions and actions (i.e., protective action decision‐making and response) (Bean et al, 2016 ; Casteel & Downing, 2016 ; Doermann et al, 2020 ; Kim et al, 2019 ; Kuligowski & Doermann, 2018 ; Liu et al, 2017 ; Sutton & Kuligowski, 2019 ; Sutton et al, 2018 ; Wood et al, 2018 ). By contrast, this study explores a novel set of correlations: changes in reported rates of Covid‐19 infections and deaths between states and localities that issued WEA messages in March and April of 2020 with states that did not.…”

Exploring the Use of Wireless Emergency Alerts for Notifications Regarding COVID-19: Initial Lines of Inquiry

“…Additionally, 96 messages included an embedded reference (a hyperlink for additional information) or reference number (a phone number to call or text for additional information), and 86 messages were rendered in Spanish. Only five WEA messages (less than 3%) can be considered complete in the way that Doermann et al (2020) specified. The implications of this initial finding need to be explored.…”

“…Research concerning the use of WEA messages to warn at-risk publics typically focused on correlations between message attributes (i.e., source, hazard, guidance, timeframe, location, style, and map and URL inclusion) and recipients' interpretations (i.e., comprehension, belief, and personalization) and behavioral intentions and actions (i.e., protective action decision making and response) (Bean 2019;Bean et al 2015Bean et al , 2016Casteel and Downing 2016;Doermann et al 2020;Kim et al 2019; Kuligowski and Doermann 2018;Liu et al 2017;Sutton et al 2018;Kuligowski 2019, Wood et al 2018). By contrast, this exploration proposes a novel set of correlations: changes in reported rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths between states and localities that issued WEA messages in March and April of 2020 with states that did not.…”