RAPID: Modeling Communication Management and Trust Networks in Ebola Response in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Region

University Of North Texas, Denton TX

Investigators

Abstract

The general aim of this Grant for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) is to collect ephemeral data of ad hoc collaborations developing and dissolving in response to Ebola. Capturing the nature of collaboration and information exchanged can assist in designing a crisis communication system that will help local government organizations be better prepared for surprise events. The project activities will also advance the state of knowledge of how city governance and emergency response organizations receive and communicate risk information to solve protective action dilemmas, especially during a pandemic outbreak. The findings will be shared with the first responders in the region. This will in turn impact a larger population of over 6.4 million citizens who reside in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) region. In addition to advancing undergraduate and graduate teaching, training, and learning, the study provides a doctoral student with field research, data collection, coding, analysis, and publication experience. By leveraging the knowledge of a large network of alumni from the Master of Public Administration and the Emergency Administration and Planning programs, will also meet the university's goals of being a regional leader in research and contributing to solving societal problems. Based on the Institutional Collective Action framework, the first objective is to investigate the ad hoc communication and trust networks that have emerged in responding to Ebola between city managers, first responders, and key health care personnel in the DFW region. Currently, there are no studies of Ebola response at the organizational level. Previous scholars generally used public sources to map terrorist organizations networks; others employed content analysis of official documents detailing preparedness planning to map the type/patterns of interorganizational collaboration, and described such interactions and collaborations as metaphors. However, such techniques of data collection and analysis are fraught with limitations due to incomplete information and biases in media framing and reporting. The meaningful benefits of ad hoc collaborations to individual organizations are also seldom noted by the mass media. Using Social Network Analysis, we seek to investigate whether closely-knitted community organizations with a strong sense of belongingness can enhance the capacity of individual organizations to gain access to a wide range of additional information. The second objective is to examine the "outcome" related to risk communication and protective action decision-making of these network structures. The data collection will be conducted through 40 face-to-face semi-structured interviews of emergency management coordinators followed by mail surveys of 300-350 emergency response agencies. This study will result in at least two peer-reviewed publications, three presentations at the Natural Hazards and Application Workshop, the American Society for Public Administration, and at Regional Emergency Managers and Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD) meetings.