Project 3. Linking Assessment and Measurement to Performance in PHEP Communications (Viswanath (Harvard) & Stoto (Harvard)) starts by recognizing the science of effective communications, which has found that for people to be ready to act in time of emergencies, they should have: 1) come in contact with appropriate preparedness messages; 2) understood them; and 3) had the ability to act on them. Hence this project moves into the third step of the Cycle by identifying how these three particular domains can be operationalized, i.e. identifying the metrics relevant to them. This project addresses the need for valid and reliable metrics that can relate communication antecedents in the domains of exposure and attention to PHEP communications, as well as to the intended outcomes. Particular attention is needed to address profound inequalities in communication (including communication of risk), exposure, attention, processing, and action, between low and high socioeconomic status (SES) groups.
The specific aims of the PHEP Communications project are:
1. Investigate the sources of information on PHEP communications among groups of different ethnic, racial and SES composition. These sources may include mass media channels such as television, radio, and newspapers; interpersonal channels such as friends, family, and members of social networks; and local agencies and websites.
2. Investigate how people in diverse ethnic, racial, and SES groups are exposed to messages about PHEP.
3. Following the Measure Development Cycle (see Figure 1), is to develop a set of valid and reliable measures of PHEP communications that include: (a) exposure to PHEP messages in different media; (b) attention to PHEP messages; (c) measures, such as credibility and trust, that influence processing; and (d) PHEP message effects including perceived susceptibility to threat at individual and group level, PHEP knowledge, capacity to act in case of a threat, and behaviors (e.g., preparation).
The ultimate goal of the "PHEP Communications" project is to develop valid and reliable metrics of PHEP communications that will be used by both the research community and the public health community. The research community may then be able to conduct more robust studies to assess the impact of risk and other PHEP communications on preparedness outcomes. PHEP communication efforts by local, state, and federal agencies as well as non-governmental organizations could be made more effective if it is known what, when and where the citizens are exposed to preparedness messages, and the effects of these messages. Absent a valid and reliable metric of PHEP communication measures, the science of PHEP communications and the practice based on that science is also likely to be unreliable. Moreover, absent an explicit focus on the disparities in PHEP communications and the outcomes of disasters, we will perpetuate the inequities that characterize current emergency preparedness measures and communications associated with them.
Principal Investigator for Project 3:
K. "Vish"Viswanath, PhD serves as Lead Investigator for
Project 3. Dr. Viswanath is an Associate Professor at HSPH and an investigator
in the HSPH CPHP as well as at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). Dr.
Viswanath is a national leader in health communication science who has pioneered
studies on communication inequalities and social change in both the U.S. and abroad.
Dr. Viswanath is currently funded by the NIH on a study to promote health
information access among the underserved, to develop infrastructure to reduce
cancer disparities in three Massachusetts
communities, and to direct the health communication core of the DF/HCC. As a
former Associate Director of Behavioral Research at the National Cancer
Institute, Dr. Viswanath also has extensive experience in administering complex
scientific enterprises and projects. He chairs the HSPH Steering Committee on
Health Communication Concentration and directs the Health Communication Core at
DF/HCC. He was recently invited to Chair the CDC Board of Scientific Councilors
of the National Center for Health Marketing. Dr.
Viswanath and colleagues have an extensive track record in conducting
large-scale studies in measurements and metrics, risk communication, communication
inequalities, and PHEP.
Co-Investigator:
Michael A. Stoto, PhD serves as the Co-Investigator for Project 3. One of the leading PHEP performance
measurement experts in the country, Dr. Stoto is currently an Adjunct Professor
of Biostatistics at HSPH, Director of the Evaluation Core of the HSPH CPHP, and
Professor of Health Systems Administration and Population Health at Georgetown
University. He currently leads the
evaluation team for the DC Healthcare Coalition Emergency Management
Partnership, funded by the DHHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Preparedness and Response (ASPR), and recently completed a multi-site project
investigating regional approaches to PHEP funded by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundations Public Health Systems Research initiative. With
extensive experience in the application of quantitative and qualitative
research methods to guide public health policy and practice, including the
development of Healthy People 2000, Dr. Stoto has conducted research on PHEP
measurement and improvement, as well as on public health interventions, and
ethical issues in research and practice.
He has published extensively, is a co-editor of an IOM report that
provided public health data for the Washington, DC area, and authored the
chapter on evaluation in Public Health
Administration, now in its second edition.
New Research Investigator:
Elena Savoia, MD, MPH serves as New Research Investigator for Project 3. Dr. Savoia is
a research scientist in the Division of Public Health Practice at HSPH.
She joined the HSPH-CPHP in 2004 and has worked on the development of
evaluation methods to assess the reliability and validity of capacity,
and performance measures designed to assess the public health system's
response to large scale emergencies. In particular, she has implemented
over 100 surveys in the specific field of emergency preparedness and
collected and analyzed data from over 5,000 respondents. In year 1, as
a New Research Investigator, Dr. Savoia will lead the Core Pilot
project entitled "Linking Assessment & Measurement to Performance in National Surveys"
and will be responsible for supervising the monitoring and evaluation
of the four program projects. In year 2-5, Dr. Savoia will serve as a
Co-Investigator in the Core.
Contact Information:
Sara Minsky
Project Director
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Center for Community-Based Research
44 Binney Street, LW 703
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: (617) 582-7735
Fax: (617) 582-8728
Email: sara_minsky@dfci.harvard.edu