Terse Messaging and Public Health in the Midst of Natural Disasters: The Case of the Boulder Floods

Sutton, Jeannette; League, Cedar; Sellnow, Timothy L.; Sellnow, Deanna D.

doi:10.1080/10410236.2014.974124

Cited by 68 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…We therefore regarded the accounts used for each case as an effective census of the population of official accounts responding to the event in question. We focused on official emergency management accounts, both because these accounts are central information diffusers during disasters (27) and because the retweeting of messages from official accounts provides a direct probe on the amplification of official messages by members of the public (6,23,38).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, warning messages with clear and specific information (2) or that include instructional information (37) are found to increase message understanding, leading to increased likelihood that message receivers will take protective actions. Similarly, imperative sentences are directive and can instruct message receivers (38). Thus far, analyses on the use of "ALL CAPS" have centered on its function to convey sentiment (39) or as an "intensifier" of information (40); capitalization may also serve to bring attention to key warning elements (41).…”

Section: Message Stylementioning

confidence: 99%

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A cross-hazard analysis of terse message retransmission on Twitter

Sutton

Gibson

Phillips

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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For decades, public warning messages have been relayed via broadcast information channels, including radio and television; more recently, risk communication channels have expanded to include social media sites, where messages can be easily amplified by user retransmission. This research examines the factors that predict the extent of retransmission for official hazard communications disseminated via Twitter. Using data from events involving five different hazards, we identity three types of attributes-local network properties, message content, and message style-that jointly amplify and/or attenuate the retransmission of official communications under imminent threat. We find that the use of an agreed-upon hashtag and the number of users following an official account positively influence message retransmission, as does message content describing hazard impacts or emphasizing cohesion among users. By contrast, messages directed at individuals, expressing gratitude, or including a URL were less widely disseminated than similar messages without these features. Our findings suggest that some measures commonly taken to convey additional information to the public (e.g., URL inclusion) may come at a cost in terms of message amplification; on the other hand, some types of content not traditionally emphasized in guidance on hazard communication may enhance retransmission rates.nder conditions of imminent threat, rapid communication of warning information to the public is a primary strategy for decreasing loss of life and increasing public safety by eliciting protective actions from those at risk (1). For decades, public warnings have been relayed via mass media channels, including radio, broadcast television, and sirens (2). With the advent of social computing, warnings have begun to be disseminated via online social networks (OSNs), where messages can be more easily propagated and amplified by the user population (3-6). Risk amplification via message retransmission in this setting is important because it enables a message to reach individuals beyond the sender's direct contacts, increasing exposure and potentially leading to lifesaving actions (7). Although such transmission occurs offline as well (8-11), OSNs offer the potential for the rapid retransmission of short messages with higher fidelity-and to more persons-than would typically be feasible via other means.In addition to enabling message diffusion, the clustered structure of most OSNs (12, 13) allows retransmission to expose individuals to the same message multiple times. Multiple exposures to messages have been linked to greater confidence in message veracity (14,15), which can lead to further sharing (16,17). Repeated exposures from multiple network ties are often a prerequisite for the spread of information through networks, and are of particular importance for inducing behavioral change (4,(18)(19)(20). Under conditions of imminent threat, exposure to a warning message from a trusted source (such as a neighbor, friend, or family member) strongly affects one's ...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Message Stylementioning

confidence: 99%

A cross-hazard analysis of terse message retransmission on Twitter

Sutton

Gibson

Phillips

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…• The source of the message could be expanded upon by spelling out the entire name and even the individuals responsible for crafting the message, • Additional information could be provided on the hazard by adding details about the hazard's impacts and consequences of the hazard (Sutton and Woods 2016;Wood et al 2015), • Additional details on hazard location can include information on where the receiver is in relation to the event, a task at which maps can be particularly helpful (Bean et al 2016;Wood et al 2015) • The timing (or a timeline) of the event can be expanded upon by spelling out abbreviations that are currently used to express timing and time zones • For guidance, additional information can expand upon current methods; e.g., "shelter in place" or simply "to shelter", by instructing individuals using imperative or instructional message style exactly how and where to take shelter (Sutton et al 2015a). Similarly, instead of instructing individuals to evacuate (only), additional information could be provided to recipients on evacuation routes and/or methods for evacuation (Wood et al 2015).…”

Section: Guidance On Short Message Alerting For Those Under Imminent mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…or "Evacuate immediately"). Additionally, imperative or instructional style voice can better communicate the message, especially when relaying the protective action(s) that should be taken (Sutton et al 2015a). …”

Section: Guidance On Short Message Alerting For Those Under Imminent mentioning

confidence: 99%

Alerting under imminent threat: guidance on alerts issued by outdoor siren and short message alerting systems

Kuligowski¹,

Kimball²

2018

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s Technical Investigation of the 2011 Joplin, MO tornado identified that no widely accepted standards exist for emergency communications in tornado events and more specifically, policies involving the use of communication systems to alert the public in advance of tornadoes. This publication provides evidence-based guidance for communities on the creation and provision of public alerts, including both alerts provided by outdoor siren (warning) systems and "short messages" sent by social media or other short message service (SMS) platforms. It is the hope that this guidance can eventually be used as input for standardization, through codes and standards, of the procedures and practices for outdoor siren systems and short message alerts used by communities across the United States. Standardization of emergency communication policies and procedures could occur at multiple levels, including among multiple jurisdictions, state-wide, regionally, or even nationally.This document begins with a brief background on alerting systems, focusing specifically on outdoor siren systems and short message alerts. The next section presents the methods used for the development of evidence-based guidance on public alerts, including methods for review of literature on public response to public alerting systems, the development of preliminary guidance based on these reviews, and the finalization of the guidance presented here in this report. Then, guidance for communities on the creation and provision of public alerts for those under imminent threat is presented. This document ends with a discussion on unanswered questions, providing opportunities for further research into various areas of public alerting.

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“…Additional information can expand upon current methods; e.g., "shelter in place" or simply "to shelter", by instructing individuals using imperative or instructional message style exactly how and where to take shelter (Sutton et al 2015a). Similarly, instead of instructing individuals to evacuate (only), additional information could be provided to recipients on evacuation routes and/or methods for evacuation (e.g., "move 50 feet above the shoreline and at least 6 blocks inland ).…”

Section: Providing Additional Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of public response to short message alerts under imminent threat

Kuligowski¹,

Doermann²

2018

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s Technical Investigation of the 2011 Joplin, MO tornado identified that no widely accepted standards exist for emergency communications in tornado events and more specifically, policies involving the use of communication systems to alert the public in advance of tornadoes.This study is designed to develop evidence-based guidance for communities on the creation and provision of public alerts, including both alerts provided by outdoor siren (warning) systems and "short messages" sent by social media or other short message service (SMS) platforms. It is the hope that this guidance can eventually be used as input for standardization, through codes and standards, of the procedures and practices for outdoor siren systems and short message alerts used by communities across the United States. Standardization of emergency communication policies and procedures could occur at multiple levels, including among multiple jurisdictions, state-wide, regionally, or even nationally.This document focuses on short message alerts, specifically presenting a review of platforms, usage and public response. First, an overview is provided on the current status of short message alerts in the United States, i.e., the current short message technology available and the ways in which this technology is used in communities across the United States. Second, a review of the literature is presented on the ways in which people respond to short message alerts and the current limitations of these systems in light of these findings. This document concludes with a discussion on the key findings and recommendations from the literature on the ways in which to improve current short message alerts, based on the methods by which people receive and process these types of alerts. Following this work, a document will be developed to provide the overall evidence-based guidance for communities on the creation and provision of public alerts.

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Terse Messaging and Public Health in the Midst of Natural Disasters: The Case of the Boulder Floods

Cited by 68 publications

References 22 publications

A cross-hazard analysis of terse message retransmission on Twitter

A cross-hazard analysis of terse message retransmission on Twitter

Alerting under imminent threat: guidance on alerts issued by outdoor siren and short message alerting systems

A review of public response to short message alerts under imminent threat

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