BACKGROUND
The natural disasters encountered by the coastal states in 2005 increased national awareness of the role of public transportation in planning for, responding to, and recovering from weather-related emergencies. Two separate reviews of how transit agencies prepare for emergencies with a focus on vulnerable populations (e.g., transit-dependent, disabled, poor, low English proficiency, racial and ethnic minorities) were conducted by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Office of Civil Rights and the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO). FTA’s 12-month review culminated in the release of Transportation Equity in Emergencies: A Review of the Practices of State Departments of Transportation, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and Transit Agencies in 20 Metropolitan Areas. COMTO’s expedited 2-month review culminated in a white paper, Emergency Preparedness and Response for Vulnerable Populations. Both documents summarize existing preparedness and recovery policies and practices regarding vulnerable populations. What is clear in both reviews is that vulnerable populations—residents who have no other means of transportation during an emergency—must rely on passenger-transportation providers. Poor communications with vulnerable populations can cause a lack of awareness regarding the role of public transit agencies in public emergency response operations. This lack of awareness was evident during the evacuation of New Orleans residents during Hurricane Katrina, as noted in the FTA and COMTO reviews. There are a myriad of ways to identify vulnerable populations who may require transportation during emergencies and provide them with vital information beforehand. Tools and procedures for long-term public health communications campaigns, for example, are well developed. Research is needed to develop a toolkit of communications strategies for use by public transportation and emergency management professionals to better ensure that vulnerable populations can be successfully communicated with prior to, during, and after natural disasters and other emergencies.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this research is to develop a toolkit of communications strategies, policies, and practices for transportation agencies and emergency management agencies that focuses on communicating with vulnerable populations prior to, during, and after all-hazards emergencies. The toolkit should be designed for both urban and rural communities. It should systematically address conceptualizing, planning, developing, testing, implementing, and evaluating communication with vulnerable populations who may be in need of emergency transportation. More specifically, the toolkit should present step-by-step tutorials, case examples, an extensive media library, and a cumulative evaluation plan. In addition, the toolkit should provide resources tailored to each vulnerable population. The toolkit should provide a process and tools to aid in the preparation of detailed communication campaigns that focus on (a) public education and (b) the public alerting system. The public education component is intended to be an ongoing educational campaign that provides advance, generic information about emergency preparation including, but not limited to, transportation, pets, shelters, and evacuation. The public alerting system component is intended for immediate emergency situations and focuses on public protective actions. For purposes of this research vulnerable populations include those defined within “special needs populations” under the National Response Framework (as shown in the NRF Glossary). Further detail is found in the Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 301 (CPG-301): Emergency Management Planning Guide for Special Needs Populations, which provides descriptive, but not exhaustive, examples of functional needs. For example, while people with low literacy are not specifically listed in the NRF Glossary, they are included in functional terms.
TASKS
Phase 1
(1). Identify strategies to communicate with vulnerable populations prior to, during, and after emergencies through a focused literature review and review of existing practices. (2). Conduct interviews with experts in communicating with vulnerable populations in conjunction with emergencies. Interviews should include diverse organizational perspectives, including representatives of passenger-transportation providers, government agencies, advocacy groups, and trade, community-based, and professional organizations. (3). Evaluate the lessons observed from recent emergencies (as documented in after-action reports and other Task 1 and Task 2 sources) regarding communications with vulnerable populations. (4). Identify key issues associated with the involvement of state and local public transportation agencies in communicating with vulnerable populations as part of specific state and local coordinated emergency communications activities. (5). Based on Tasks 1 through 4, develop a detailed outline for a toolkit of communications strategies, policies, and practices for transportation agencies and emergency management agencies that focuses on communicating with vulnerable populations prior to, during, and after all-hazards emergencies. (6). Prepare an interim report summarizing the results of Tasks 1 through 5 for review by the TCRP project panel. The interim report should present a detailed approach to Task 8 and provide an updated work plan for the remaining tasks. (7). Revise the work plan for remaining tasks based on panel comments received during the interim meeting.
Phase 2
(8). Develop the draft toolkit based on the revised work plan. The toolkit should be designed for both urban and rural communities. It should systematically address conceptualizing, planning, developing, testing, implementing, and evaluating communication with vulnerable populations who may be in need of emergency transportation. More specifically, the toolkit should present step-by-step tutorials, case examples, an extensive media library, and a cumulative evaluation plan. In addition, the toolkit should provide resources tailored to each vulnerable population.
The toolkit shall include, as a minimum, a process to
- Use research to help describe and determine the causes of the problem that the user plans to address with an intervention and to detail the audience segments affected by the problem;
- Explore a wide range of possible strategies for the problem (recognizing that communication is not always the solution);
- Systematically select the strategies that may show the most promise to help the audiences;
- Understand the role communication can play in planning, implementing, and evaluating selected strategies; and
- Develop a comprehensive communication plan that includes audience research, pre-testing, production, launch and evaluation at every stage.
(9). Field test and evaluate the toolkit from Task 8 in a diverse and representative set of rural and urban areas. (10). Prepare interim report 2 documenting the results of Tasks 8 and 9. Develop the final design for the toolkit (including software or other aids) that reflects the outcome of Task 9. (11). Prepare the final toolkit of communications strategies, policies, and practices for transportation agencies and emergency management agencies that focuses on communicating with vulnerable populations prior to, during, and after all-hazards emergencies. (12). Submit a final report documenting the research results, including the toolkit as a standalone product, including accompanying software or other aids.
Status: Completed. An interim report was received in February 2010. The panel met with the research team in March 2010. A second interim report was received in October 2010. The panel received the preliminary draft final report and met with the research team in December 2010. The revised final report was received in March 2011. The toolkit was published in September 2011 as TCRP Report 150. The contractor's final research report is available upon request from saparker@nas.edu.
The panel is overseeing an informal panel that is responsible for TCRP Project A-33A, Using Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication Barriers.
In addition to the 508-compliant pdf versions included in the Toolkit published as TCRP Report 150, the research team delivered separate MS Word files for each of the tools provided in the Toolkit. They are available for download below.
