Achieving Effective Risk Communication for Disaster Prevention in Ghana - A Study of Ghana National Fire Service

Abstract

This research aimed to determine the Disaster Risks Communication and Reduction activities, particularly early warning, education being implemented in Accra metropolis especially the market areas. The findings from this research delved into the various risks communication channel through which hazards are communicated. The research also focused on the various stakeholders responsible for communicating hazards. This thesis addresses this uncertainty via a qualitative research study that sheds light on the meaning of risk communication, despite such uncertainty, by revealing a discrete number of qualitatively different ways in which disaster managers and disaster educators experience and understand public education. Transcriptions of interviews of three such senior Accra disaster managers (GNFS, AMA, ECG) and sixty traders from the market were analyzed using qualitatively different ways of experiencing public education on risk communication. The results suggested multiple ways to improve public education within the fire disaster management community and more widely. The need for clarity in communication amongst educators and professionals in regard to public communication channels and education was confirmed by the research findings.