title: When bioterrorism strikes: communication issues for the local health department.
abstract: Public health preparedness is a multifaceted planning process that becomes grounded in a response plan and in effective communications, internal and external. This article describes an incident when the presence of anthrax spores was detected in a postal facility within Kansas City, Missouri, and discusses the communications issues faced by the Kansas City Health Department (KCHD). This incident provided the KCHD the first opportunity to operationalize its Incident Management System-based response plan. However, accompanying its implementation were unforeseen issues related to both internal and external communications. These issues and the lessons learned are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Education and Health Communication at the Kansas City Health Department in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Riederer-Trainor
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Snook
authors.forename: Gerald L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Hoff
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: Rex
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Archer
mesh_terms: D000881:Anthrax / Q000517:prevention & control; D023482:Bioterrorism; D003142:Communication; D004189:Disaster Planning; D006801:Humans; D009111:Local Government; D008402:Mass Media; D008923:Missouri; D011177:Postal Service; D011635:Public Health Administration