Preparedness built around family, not individual responsibility

The situation. Most disaster preparedness campaigns tell individuals to get ready. In Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, public health partners needed an approach grounded in local values, family relationships, and responsibilities to the community.

What I did. I directed communications strategy for a $480,000 CDC-supported typhoon preparedness initiative. Working with local public health partners, I developed messaging grounded in CHamoru heritage and inafa'maolek, a cultural value emphasizing mutual respect, cooperation, and responsibility toward others. The campaign line, "Prepare your familia. Protect our heritage," connected emergency preparedness with protecting family members, elders, and community traditions.

The thinking behind it. Rather than asking people to prepare only for their own safety, the strategy made preparedness part of caring for the people and traditions that mattered to them. That audience-centered approach also created a foundation for adapting the messaging to COVID-19 vaccination communications.