Risk Communication Capability Structure Of Public Health Department Of Coping With The Influenza Pandemic

Background: In recent years, Animal outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza,human cases of avian influenza, and the recent Influenza A H1N1flu cases constantlyemerging have sounded the alarm for the arrival of an influenza pandemic. Theexperience of multinational response to the sudden flu warns us that the importance ofMass risk communication is no less than the inspection and diagnosis of laboratorynetwork. It can win time for full preparedness and response of influenza pandemic,virtually eliminating panic, maintaining social stability, and having importantsignificance to pandemic influenza’s prevention and control. However, founding byconsulting the extensive literature, despite domestic and international academia hasdone a lot of research on risk communication, mostly concentrating on riskcommunication channels, content, strategy, pattern and So on, less on the structure ofthe health sector risk communication capacity, and the research for the influenzapandemic risk communication skills is far more blank, which largely limits capacitybuilding and evaluation activities of the health sector’s influenza pandemic mass riskcommunication. Therefore an urgent need for in-depth discussion on the health sector‘s pandemic influenza mass risk communication capacity, and make a push forward inthe influenza pandemic mass risk communication capacity, then from the perspectiveof the risk communication capacity guide and promote the prevention and control ofinfluenza pandemic’s capacity building.Objective: To build a systematic and scientific system of the health sector’s influenzapandemic mass risk communication capacity, clear elements and dimensions, in orderto provide a theoretical basis for enhancing and assess the health sector’s influenzapandemic mass risk communication capacity.Methods: By the domestic and international risk communication literature research,Closely linking to the topic of risk communication capacity and influenza pandemic, in accordance with the results of the individual depth interviews, Integrating structuralelements and dimensions of pandemic influenza mass risk communication capacityfrom the theoretical and practical level, through panel discussions and Delphi methodto learn more about experts’ comments and suggestions on early entry to elements, theelements’ coverage, the elements’ importance, and then to use exploratory factoranalysis method to explore and demonstrate the scientific nature of its constituentdimensions on this basis.Results:1. To define elements and analysis, dimension division to health sector’s influenzapandemic mass risk communication skills structure through literature review, expertsdiscussions and individual depth interviews, preliminary summarying the structure ofthe health sector‘s pandemic influenza mass risk communication skills, including atotal of41elements.2. By two expert consultations to determine the structural elements of mass riskcommunication capacity including13domains and34elements.3. The result of two expert consultations and methods of exploratory factor analysisare similar, according to results of two expert consultation and exploratory factoranalysis fitting the dimension of ability structure to11domains,34elements.Conclusion:(1)This research having clear the structural elements of ability andbuilding the structure dimensions of ability, with good scientific and feasible to beable to be more fully reflected the health authorities during an influenza pandemicrisk communication process;(2)Due to time and related material limitations, and thelevel of their own, the ability to structure system built in the study still have manyareas for improvement, and need continuously improve in the future practice;(3)Tostrengthen risk communication in the control of other infectious diseases, and toexpect that the results of this study are broader application at the same time.