The reader should expect to gain the following understanding: The reasons that organizations must integrate effective emergency risk and crisis communication planning and resources into overall emergency operational planning at the community, state, and federal levels Accepted definitions of emergency risk and crisis communication concepts Nuts and bolts of crisis communication planning and tools, including problem definition, analysis, implementation of intervention, evaluation, and feedback How emergency risk and crisis communication concepts apply to a possible or declared bioterrorism event The psychology of a public health emergency and what messages the public will need from their public health professionals How local, state, and federal emergency response and recovery operations (including governmental and nongovernmental organizations) should communicate among themselves, to the public, and to their stakeholders