MILITARY PHARMACY AND MEDICINE

More documents

Recommendations

Info

© Military Pharmacy and Medicine • 2012 • 4 • 106 – 110actions reducing the consequences of the eventis a well-organised communication betweenemergency services units, including the fire brigade,the police, the medical rescue, etc., as wellas between emergency services and the public.Due to technical advancements it is possible toexchange information via the electronic media,however, the basic way of contact between theemergency services, the authorities and the societyis undoubtedly public media, including press,radio and television stations (TV and radio areelectronic media) [3,6].Communication with the media in crisis situationsmay be divided into three stages. The firstof them includes actions preceding a crisis situation,and next two stages – actions during andafter eliminating such a situation [1,2,6,7].Actions preceding catastrophesCommunication infrastructure, consolidating allemergency services and the public, is an inherentelement of the efficient security system. Theabove mentioned mass media, i.e. radio, television,press, and nowadays also the Internet, aremain channels of conveying information. Lackof proper circulation of information between theemergency services leads to chaos, whereas, disturbedcommunication with the media results inmisinterpretation of the event, which may raisemany unfavourable interactions in the public,including panic.Actions preceding a crisis situation are inherentpreparatory stages for various emergencyservices and crisis panels. Continuous updatingof knowledge by people who coordinate actionsof emergency and crisis services, results in progressingimprovement of professional skills [8,9].Constant training, exercises and simulationshelp these services, to a greater or lesser extent,prepare for possible crisis scenarios.Exercises should not only involve rescue services,but they should also include elements of cooperationwith media [7,10]. In the future it willhelp avoid information chaos. It is important tobecome acquainted with the rules of the publicmedia. It is also worth establishing and practisingthe method of appointing persons responsiblefor contacts with the media (spokespersons),creating healthy relationship with the media andReview articlepreparing (adequately to the situation) necessaryinformation for the public. Therefore, establishingprocedures for crisis situations seemsindispensable.Media communicationand legal provisionsCirculation of information between public servicesand media is regulated by legal acts, ethicalcodes and internal regulations. Thereby, suchregulations impose duties on the emergencyservices workers, authorities and journalists.Informing the public about states of danger isdefined by, among others, a notation in the UNUniversal Declaration of Human Rights of 1984[11]. In the face of a crisis situation, people wouldfeel much safer to know that they receive reliableinformation about current actions and changesthat may affect their lives and environment.Act of 26 January 1984 – Press Law, conferredpowers on journalists to obtain informationabout actions of government agencies, publiccompanies and other organisational units,whereas, heads of such units, spokespersons orother persons authorized to convey informationto media are responsible for providing suchinformation [12]. However, according to theabove Act, journalists should make every effortto be careful, reliable and honest while collectingand conveying press materials; they shouldcheck credibility of all obtained informationand publish its sources. According to the Act,the media are obliged to publish (free of charge)statements issued on the basis of acts, announcements,ordinances or resolutions of the centraladministration authorities and governmentadministration authorities in the province, and,what is important for this paper, they are obligedto publish (free of charge) announcements issuedby the government administration authoritiesor local governments and concerning crisis situationsdefined in the Act on crisis managementof 2007 [13].Legal provisions concerning reliable conveyinginformation about events and phenomena in thecountry and abroad, are also included in the Acton the state of natural disaster [14] or in the Acton National Broadcasting Council. Principlesof correct collection of and publication of pressmaterials may be found not only in the above acts106 http://military.isl-journals.com
© Military Pharmacy and Medicine • 2012 • 4 • 107 – 110but also in ethical codes, including the PolishCode of Ethics for Public Relations Associationand the Ethical Code of Journalists.A great example of internal acts referring to therole of communication between the emergency(rescue) services and the media may be internalregulations of the National Fire Service of 1998,defining press-information activity within theNFS structures, including the actions of spokespersonsand cooperation between NFS andjournalists during crisis situations. In 2004, theHeadquarters of the National Fire Service establishedprinciples of proper conduct for the commandingofficer during a rescue operation. Theabove-mentioned guidelines categorically forbidthe commanding officer to inform the mediain the event place about the reasons, identitydata and names of casualties. Guidelines alsoclearly define the way of taking over informationalfunction by a person appointed to a postof a spokesperson.Appointment of spokespersonsŁukasz Szarpak: Selected aspects of communication between emergency services …media about progression of rescue actions fromthe onset of crisis. Such a person should be chosenmuch earlier and systematically prepared forhis/her role, since in order to increase the level ofreliability of the released statement, the speakermust show competence, enjoy respect, be reliableand dynamic, and enjoy a positive opinion. Sucha person should have several crucial abilities:••must be resistant to stress and control his/herown emotions;••must have extensive substantive knowledgeabout activities of the emergency servicesand know the services which he/she is talkingabout;••must have great interpersonal abilities andmake contact easily.Professional actions of a spokesperson build uptrust of the media in emergency services andstrengthen positive public opinion about theirhard work [16]. Thus, it is so important to obeythe rules defining what a spokesperson should orshould not do.A deficit of information is commonly associatedwith crisis situations. From a point ofview of the media, a crisis situation is a specialopportunity to develop their own image amongmedia market participants while gaining asmuch information as possible and reporting itto the public [15] . In order to avoid informationchaos, it is important to take actions whichguarantee that statements issued by all personsauthorised to convey information are consistent,relevant and answer the questions insteadof ignoring them using a phrase “no comments”.A requirement of consistent communication isone of the most important elements connectedwith the entire management of communicationin crisis situations. Consistency is necessaryfor information exchange between particularemergency services, organizations and themedia. Therefore, it seems important to developa strategy of communication with both internal(services) and external (media and publicopinion) environment.Misinterpretation of the event is a commonaction taken by the media, which results fromshortage of information or conflicting datapresented to the public. Thus, it is essential toappoint a person who will solely inform thehttp://military.isl-journals.comTable 1: Principles of spokesperson’s work.AllowedRelease information onlyvia a press spokespersonresponsible for public relations.Not allowedSpeculate on:••possible causes of thecrisis situation;••number of fatalities;••further scenarios of events;••date of termination of theactions.Provide information thatCreate equal opportunities to can hinder the progress ofobtain information by various rescue operations, raisetypes of media.panic or bring about any newthreat.Release only proven informationSupervise information outflowby:••own, frequent contacts withthe media;••collecting all information ina version reported by themedia to the public;••controlling movement ofjournalists in the endangeredarea.Issue official statements toincompetent personsEvaluate rescue operationswhen they are in progress.Lay the blame for the situationon anyone.Misinform the media.107
Page 6 and 7:
MILITARY PHARMACYAND MEDICINESCIENT
Page 8 and 9:
MILITARY PHARMACYAND MEDICINEEDITOR
Page 10 and 11:
© Military Pharmacy and Medicine
Page 12 and 13:
Page 14 and 15:
Page 16 and 17:
Page 18 and 19:
Page 20 and 21:
Page 22 and 23:
Page 24 and 25:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29:
Page 32 and 33:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59:
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65:
Page 66 and 67: © Military Pharmacy and Medicine
Page 75: © Military Pharmacy and Medicine
Page 143 and 144: © Military Pharmacy and Medicine E
Page 145 and 146: © Military Pharmacy and Medicine E
Page 147: Trzecia strona okładki
show all

MILITARY PHARMACY AND MEDICINE

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?