Public Health Workbook to Define, Locate and Reach Special, Vulnerable, and At-Risk Populations in an Emergency The Workbook Page (www.bt.cdc.gov/workbook) Web Resource for: • This document • The Steps at-a-Glance 4-page summary • T F A R D FEEDBACK (online form) for The Workbook Working draft document for review. Do not cite or quote. ii T F A R D Working draft document for review. Do not cite or quote. Acknowledgments T F A R D Working draft document for review. Do not cite or quote. iii iv T F A R D Working draft document for review. Do not cite or quote. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: • This Workbook does NOT attempt to define special, vulnerable or at-risk populations for your jurisdiction. It does, however, provide examples and ideas that can help you recognize populations in your community that you may need to reach. • This Workbook does NOT attempt to describe preparedness or emergency activities or communications targeted to the populations that you identify by following the steps in this Workbook. It simply outlines a possible systematic process to define, locate and reach out to these populations. Please Note: As a public health professional looking to this Workbook for assistance: T F A R D • Before you begin this work, make sure that it has not already been started or completed by another agency in your jurisdiction. • Be sure to work in conjunction with your local emergency planners and other agencies in your jurisdiction as you consider the steps outlined in this Workbook. If you are NOT a Public Information and Communication professional, you may wonder if the information in The Workbook is relevant to your emergency preparedness work, because of the frequent references to public information and communication activities. It is important for you to understand that the idea for this Workbook grew out of conversations with state/local Public Information Officers and Emergency Public Information and Risk Communication planners and their desire to be prepared to reach everyone in their communities with messages during a public health emergency. But clearly, the processes and steps described in The Workbook have a much broader application and are appropriate for many disciplines involved in emergency preparedness – because regardless of your responsibilities, in order to assist people in a community, you must know who they are and how to reach them effectively. So please keep this in mind as you review The Workbook, and consider how you would apply it to the work you do. Working draft document for review. Do not cite or quote.