Welcome to the Develop an Education and Engagement Strategy module! Identifying and engaging with community members and in particular communities with low trust in government is an essential component of a strategy to raise awareness about extreme heat’s impacts and protective measures.

Develop education and engagement strategies that establish early and ongoing communication channels with community members and organizations. This will create opportunities to co-develop goals, values, and priorities for plans and projects with affected communities. Language, age, gender, race and ethnicity, geographic location, religion, among other identities should be considered when creating an inclusive education and engagement strategy. After developing the strategy, you should continue to adapt and improve it over time based on its results and new information.

Awareness of extreme heat as a health risk is often alarmingly low, particularly among populations that are at greatest risk due to heat. Often, individuals aged 65 and older and other at-risk people see others as susceptible to heat illness or death, but not themselves. A heat education and engagement strategy should:

• Increase levels of awareness among the public and key stakeholders, particularly the communities who are the most likely to be harmed.
• Provide clear advice and actionable guidance on how the public and service/information providers can protect themselves and/or others.
• Take a multi-stakeholder approach and utilize a variety of information types and channels to reach audiences effectively.
• Highlight available resources and services to help people prepare for and respond to dangerous heat.

Heat-related communications are not solely used during period of hot temperatures, though the quantity and variety of communications may increase with heat waves. They can be issued year-round (to increase general heat awareness), ahead of and during your heat season, and ahead of or during heat events to further reinforce good preparedness and reinforce awareness of what to do when the weather is dangerously hot.

• Clear goals and objectives around the target audience and outcomes of heat risk communication.
• Identified “plan of action” that includes stakeholders, communications channels and vehicles, such as spokespersons.
• A timeline that considers the most effective moments or phases in which to communicate to the public in advance of and during heat waves.
• Consideration of existing communications plans and how to integrate heat risk communications to avoid contradictory messaging.
• Risk communication products and materials that are accessible, credible, actionable, and personally relevant.
• Integration with heat risk and impact reduction projects, such as opening of cooling centers, early warning alerts, and other social programs.

The target audience should be drawn from either a pre-existing vulnerability assessment or should be identified through the output of the Identify Heat-Related Vulnerabilities and Impacts and Assess Heat Risk Awareness modules.

Broadly, the strategy can target four levels of audiences:

• Heat-vulnerable individuals
• Social networks
• Organizations and agencies, departments, and ministries
• Communities and/or societies

Understanding how your audiences transmit and receive information is key to reaching them effectively. Identify and partner with the leaders, organizations, and agencies that interact with heat-vulnerable populations, such as health care providers, schools, and businesses, to ensure that you are using the most effective channels and risk communication messaging. Communication channels between city authorities, intermediaries (e.g., local media, NGOs, community leaders), and communities can include:

• Social media
• Television
• Websites
• Radio
• Word of mouth
• Text message (SMS, WhatsApp) alerts and phone calls
• Newspapers
• Flyers
• Messaging specifically for trusted/influential community organizations
• Public announcements (e.g., broadcasted from vehicles or loudspeakers)
• Heat “hotlines” that the public can call for information

Quantitative data on which communication channels are commonly used can be sourced through community surveys, telecom governing bodies, universities, and private research agencies while NGOs and community leaders can provide more qualitative data. Consider also how audience literacy, language fluency, financial access (e.g., to the internet or television) and level of trust in various communication channels can moderate access to information.

Ideally, campaigns should begin in advance of a heat season to have sufficient lead time to make people aware of how to protect themselves and others during the upcoming summer. Heat alerts and warnings should also be tested ahead of the heat season to ensure that they are working correctly and reaching your target audience.

Heat-related communications should be consistent across channels and timing (i.e., during cooler months vs. during a heat wave). They should ideally also complement other public health messages being issued by the local government and other stakeholders, with a mix of written and visual formats depending on the channel.

Heat-related communications content can include:

• Weather forecast
• Areas which will be most affected
• Potential impacts
• Advice on what actions to take

When developing messages, consider whether they (adapted from Health Canada [2011]):

• Identify and test key messages and required actions
• Communicate clearly
• Motivate your audience
• Use vivid and appropriate images wherever possible
• Build trust by providing evidence and acknowledge any lack of certainty
• Avoid technical jargon, condescending phrases, or promises/guarantees