Interview Guide - Public Health Officials

ATTACHMENT F: INTERVIEW GUIDE PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS

Form Approved

OMB No. 0920-1154

Exp. Date 01/31/2020

CDC estimates the average public reporting burden for this collection of information as 45 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data/information sources, gathering and maintaining the data/information needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to CDC/ATSDR Information Collection Review Office, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS D-74, Atlanta, Georgia 30333; ATTN: PRA (0920-1154).

INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH AND INFORMATION OFFICERS AND VECTOR CONTROL OFFICIALS

Please provide your professional title, held during the Zika Response.

Please describe your role in development of communication efforts or work in outreach during the Zika response.

• What was your organization’s role in communication/outreach/engagement with the public?

• What role did you have in communication/outreach/engagement with the public?

Please describe the goals of your/your organization’s communication/outreach/engagement with the public during the Zika response.

• Why was it necessary and what did you hope to accomplish from your communication/outreach/engagement efforts?

• What messages were you trying to deliver to the public?

• What outcomes were you trying to achieve?

Please describe the efforts led by you or your organization regarding communication/outreach/engagement with the public during the Zika response.

• What initiatives were undertaken and by whom?

• How did you develop and decide to implement those initiatives?

• How did initiatives differ if at all from prior responses?

  • In what ways did they differ?

  • In what ways were they the same?

• How did you consider vulnerable populations when formulating your messages?

  • What types of vulnerable populations did you consider?

  • Were different approaches to communication/outreach/engagement developed for different populations?

  • Were different formats uses for communication/outreach/engagement with identified subpopulations?

• How were your approaches to communication/outreach/engagement with the public informed by cultural values and historical experiences in your community?

  • Are there specific values held in your community that are culturally linked, and which affected your approach to communicating about sensitive topics like reproductive health or disability?

  • Did your jurisdiction’s past experiences with other recent infectious disease threats shape your agency’s current approach(es) to communicating with the public about Zika? If so, how?

  • Is trust in government an issue for your community, and if so, how did you address that in your approach to communication and engagement about Zika?

  • Has Zika raised any novel public concerns around infectious disease threats that weren’t raised during previous emergencies?

    • If so, what are they, and what processes has your agency used to address them?

• What key partners did you work with to communicate and engage with the public during Zika?

  • Who did you engage with at the federal, state, and local levels and in the private sector on communication and engagement?

  • How did you work with these partners on communication and public engagement?

Please describe the successes and difficulties experienced with communication/outreach/engagement with the public during the Zika response.

• What initiatives worked particularly well?

  • Why do you think they were successful?

  • Were they particularly innovative or different from past efforts? How?

• What initiatives did not work well?

  • Why did they fall short?

  • What could have been done differently to make them successful?

• What metrics have you used to determine if a message has been successfully disseminated, received, and operationalized by the public?

• Please describe any gaps in knowledge or technical guidance, as related to communication/outreach/engagement with the public, that you experienced during the Zika response

  • Did you feel that you had enough information to communicate and engage with the public?

  • How did you handle gaps in knowledge/uncertainty in communication/engagement

Please describe your view of infectious disease emergency communication/outreach/engagement policies and roles.

• What do you see is the role of federal partners (including CDC), state and local partners, and the private sector in communication and public engagement during infectious disease emergencies like Zika?

  • Compare your role to that of other federal, state, and local, and private sector partners

• Did your agency use CDC guidance to develop its own communication strategies for Zika?

  • If so, to what degree did CDC guidance inform Zika messaging and public engagement in your jurisdiction?

    • How did you use or translate CDC guidance for communication/engagement work?

    • Were there any parts of CDC guidance that was confusing or did not translate well?

  • If not, why did you not use CDC guidance?

• Are there particular areas of need that were filled by assistance from the CDC regarding communication/outreach/engagement with the public?

  • What kinds of information or resources provided by the CDC were most helpful to you in communication/outreach/engagement with the public during the Zika response?

• How could CDC engage more effectively with you and your organization on these issues?

  • What (if any) kinds of information or resources on communication/outreach/engagement were you looking for from CDC that you did not receive during the Zika response?

  • What if any resources were you looking for that you did not receive to support your communication and public engagement efforts?

    • Have you been able to obtain these resources from other agencies or community organizations? If so, which ones?

  • Are there other federal health agencies that you found useful to engage with or consult regarding Zika messaging (e.g. EPA, HRSA, SAMHSA, FDA, etc.)?

Please provide any other insights that you think might inform future efforts in communication/outreach/engagement with the public during infectious disease emergencies.