TY - JOUR AU - DiGiovanni, Cleto AU - Reynolds, Barbara AU - Harwell, Robert AU - Stonecipher, Elliott B. AU - Burkle, Frederick M. T1 - Community Reaction to Bioterrorism: Prospective Study of Simulated Outbreak T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2003 VL - 9 IS - 6 SP - 708 SN - 1080-6059 AB - To assess community needs for public information during a bioterrorism-related crisis, we simulated an intentional Rift Valley fever outbreak in a community in the southern part of the United States. We videotaped a series of simulated print and television “news reports” over a fictional 9-day crisis period and invited various groups (e.g., first-responders and their spouses or partners, journalists) within the selected community to view the videotape and respond to questions about their reactions. All responses were given anonymously. First-responders and their spouses or partners varied in their reactions about how the crisis affected family harmony and job performance. Local journalists exhibited considerable personal fear and confusion. All groups demanded, and put more trust in, information from local sources. These findings may have implications for risk communication during bioterrorism-related outbreaks. KW - behavior KW - bioterrorism KW - communication KW - Rift Valley fever KW - risk communication KW - terrorism KW - mass behavior KW - psychological KW - research KW - United States DO - 10.3201/eid0906.020769 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/9/6/02-0769_article ER - End of Reference