On March 06, 2002, ASTHO presented a live webcast titled, Risk Communication: Responding to the Communication Challenges Posed by Bioterrorism. The program featured Vincent T. Covello, PhD, Director of the Center for Risk Communication with ASTHO President Georges C. Benjamin, MD.

The presentation will be made available here through ASTHO’s web site as streaming video from March 7 to April 6. Local health officials, public information officers and other members of the public health community are encouraged to view this program through this venue.

You do not need to register for this program, which uses Internet technology to present the broadcast through your computer.

Since last year’s anthrax incidents, many of us have become aware of an increasing interest in public health from the media, the general public, and legislators. The introduction of any pathogen into an urban setting – whether intentional or accidental – presents critical communication challenges that are unlike anything we have dealt with in the past. Many of us have not been trained to deal with these challenges.

Recognizing the need for this training, ASTHO has worked with Dr. Dr. Vincent T. Covello, an internationally recognized expert in the field of risk communications, to develop the following program.

Dr. Covello is the Director of the Center for Risk Communication in New York City. For the past 25 years he has served in numerous positions in academia and government, including:

• Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences and Clinical Medicine at Columbia University
• Senior scientist on detail to the White House Council on Environmental Quality in Washington, DC
• A Study Director at the National Academy of Sciences
• Director of Risk Assessment Programs at the National Science Foundation
• A professor at Brown University. [In the video that you are about to view, Dr. Covello is introduced as currently being on the staff at Brown University. Dr. Covello formerly served on the faculty at Brown University.]

Dr Covello is currently working with the CDC on developing responses for public and media inquiries around smallpox. He is helping European states deal with toxic waste issues and is working with the U. S. and Europe on food safety issues. Dr. Covello is also working with the Australian government to resolve disputes over mining and Aboriginal land rights.

We hope you find this program helpful and informative.

Please use the links below:

• Windows 100k
  
• Windows 56k
  
• REAL 100k
  
• REAL 56k