Pandemic Influenza--Past, Present, Future: Communicating Today Based on the Lessons from the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Foreword

Influenza pandemics are events that have occurred in the past and will undoubtedly occur in the future.  There is uncertainty about when the next influenza pandemic will occur, who will be most impacted, and how many will fall victim to this viral disease.  These uncertainties make communicating the risk and consequences of pandemic influenza a greater communication challenge than the usual public health threats. 

The Pandemic Influenza—Past, Present, and Future Workshop looked at the impact of the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic from the perspective of family life, local communities, and societal and governmental perspectives in an attempt to use the lessons of the past to help prepare for the communication challenges we may face during future influenza pandemics.    

Executive Summary

On October 17, 2006, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases presented a historical retrospective review of the impact of the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic. A panel of experts convened to discuss how the 1918–1919 pandemic affected daily life in the United States and what lessons can be learned and applied to planning today. 

The goals of the meeting were to:  

• provide participants with a frame of reference and historical background on the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic,
• identify contemporary pandemic influenza issues and questions, and
• present guidance for the development of communication materials and messages that can be used in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Historical perspectives were provided during the day-long meeting by a panel of renowned experts and historians. The panelists reviewed literature and “fugitive data” (data that is not commonly cited). They also analyzed themes and issues that arose during the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic that are relevant to current pandemic communication planning efforts. The themes and issues covered fell under three broad questions:

1. How did the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic affect family life?
2. How did the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic affect local communities?
3. How did the government respond and society adjust to disruptions caused by the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic?

Workshop participants were federal, state, and local public health personnel.  They discussed presentations made by the expert panel and generated questions they thought likely to be asked by the public during an influenza pandemic.

The panelists included:

• John M. Barry: Mr. Barry is a prize-winning and New York Times best-selling author with recognized expertise in an unusual variety of areas, including infectious disease, rivers, crisis management, and the media. Mr. Barry is a member of several advisory boards, including the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a federal government Infectious Disease Board of Experts. He has served as an advisor to federal and state agencies, as well as World Health Organization (WHO) officials.
• Richard Hatchett: Dr. Hatchett is the Associate Director for Radiation Countermeasures Research and Emergency Preparedness at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Dr. Hatchett previously served as a Senior Medical Adviser for the HHS Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness (OPHEP), and as Director for Biodefense Policy for the White House Homeland Security Council. Since March 2006, he has worked intensively on the development of a community pandemic mitigation strategy and has coordinated interagency modeling efforts to test the strategy under consideration.
• Howard Markel: Dr. Markel is the Director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan; the George E. Wantz, M.D. Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine; and a Professor of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, Medical History, Health Management and Policy, and Psychiatry. Dr. Markel has or currently sits on several editorial and executive boards of scholarly publications and academic societies. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, an elected member of the American Pediatrics Society and the Society for Pediatric Research, and a member of the American Association for the History of Medicine. 

These Proceedings provide a summary of the Pandemic Influenza—Past, Present, Future Workshop: Communicating Today Based on the Lessons from the 1918–1919 Influenza Pandemic. Speakers’ remarks were summarized from notes taken at the workshop and notes provided to the editors. The workshop agenda, a resource list, summaries of probable stakeholder questions, audience feedback, and a participants list are included as appendices.