Public health

EMTs must be equipped with the appropriate health messages and materials as well as the skills to adapt to local context in order to contribute to a wider response to any emergency.

EMTs play an important role in encouraging health-seeking behaviours in emergencies given their frequent and direct engagement with affected populations. When affected communities have low knowledge about health risks, trust plays an important part in public perceptions about severity of that risk. Health-care professionals are often allotted a higher level of trust than other stakeholders in public health emergencies; EMTs should therefore be able to effectively educate such affected populations on topics that help prevent sickness or the spread of diseases.

1. Develop a communications plan that considers core principles of community engagement56 and the context of operations.
2. Train all staff on key elements of the communications plan and the soft skills needed for health promotion and community engagement in emergencies.
3. Integrate IEC materials into daily operations to successfully reach both individuals and the community.
4. Make available a comprehensive catalogue of IEC materials on various topics on (but not limited to) infection prevention and control measures; water, sanitation, and hygiene; food safety; vector-borne diseases; sexual health and NCDs.

1. Teams must consider the appropriate use of media and social media tools when communicating with target populations on public health issues.
2. Being consistent with messages, adhering to media SOPs and using local languages/dialects whenever possible should be considered when crafting these messages.