Summit convened by:

Center for Biosecurity of UPMC

Canadian Policy Research Network

Center for Science Technology and Security Policy at AAAS

National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terror

Opening Remarks
Monica Schoch-Spana

Speaker Biography  |  Transcript  |  Audio

Summary
Dr. Schoch-Spana, the summit's principal organizer and Senior Associate with the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC, welcomed attendees on behalf of the Center for Biosecurity and the meeting's co-sponsors. She outlined the purpose of the meeting which was to advance a framework of collective problem solving and shared decision making in relation to large-scale health emergencies.

Specifically, summit attendees were convened to discuss the feasibility and benefits of actively engaging citizens in health emergency planning, in anticipation of (1) the ethical dilemmas posed by a scarcity of life-saving medical resources and (2) the practical difficulties of protecting the well and caring for the sick in large numbers.

The meeting's core assumption, Schoch-Spana remarked, was that of the public as a capable partner in remedying health crises. This notion counters the prevailing approaches among officials who tend to think of the public in one-dimensional terms, whether as an angry mob in need of crowd control or as an anxious audience in need of credible messages.

Stating the meeting's objectives, Schoch-Spana also indicated what the summit was not about:

• Cynicism and mutual distrust between "government" and "citizens": The program was intended to advance collaborative problem solving and not a rugged individualist credo summed up in the phrase, "What do we have to do for ourselves because we know that the government won't be there for us in a disaster?!" Neither was the program meant to promote techniques of persuasion to garner public compliance with what authorities have already planned.
• Scare mongering: Acknowledging "threat fatigue" in the U.S., the summit was built upon a realistic appreciation of what can happen in a large-scale health emergency and what members and sectors of society can do about it collectively. The tone of the conference was that of hopefulness-getting ready and taking action, not provoking fear.

Summary by Christiana Usenza