"Crisis and emergency risk communication is the attempt by science- or public health professionals to provide information that allows an individual, stakeholders, or an entire community to make the best possible decisions during a crisis emergency about their well being, and communicate those decisions, within nearly impossible time constraints, and ultimately, to accept the imperfect nature of choices as the situation evolves". (CDC, CERC Course, 2002, Course Purpose Statement). "Crisis and emergency risk communication encompasses the urgency of disaster communication with the need to communicate risks and benefits to stakeholders and the public. Crisis and emergency risk communication differs from crisis communication in that the communicator is not perceived as a participant in the crisis or disaster, except as an agent to resolve the crisis or emergency. Crisis and emergency risk communication is the effort by experts to provide information to allow an individual, stakeholder, or an entire community to make the best possible decisions about their well-being within nearly impossible time constraints and help people ultimately to accept the imperfect nature of choices during the crisis. This is the communication that goes on in emergency rooms, not doctors"offices. Crisis and emergency risk communication also differs from risk communication in that a decision must be made within a narrow time constraint, the decision may be irreversible, the outcome of the decision may be uncertain, and the decision may need to be made with imperfect or incomplete information. Crisis and emergency risk communication represents an expert opinion provided in the hope that it benefits its receivers and advances a behavior or an action that allows for rapid and efficient recovery from the event". (CDC, CERC Course, 2002, p. 10) "Crises, emergencies, and disasters happen. One of the reasons disaster response is difficult to coordinate is that disasters are different from routine daily emergencies. The difference is more than just one of magnitude. Disasters generally cannot be adequately managed merely by mobilizing more personnel and material. During crisis situations, decision-makers are often unable to collect and process information in a timely manner and, thus, rely on established routines for situations that are, by definition, novel. Communication during a crisis cannot be managed solely by mobilizing more people and material-the communication itself must change because crises are inherently low-probability but high-impact events in which established frames of reference for understanding may breakdown. In major disasters, the incident is so shattering that both the sense of what is occurring and the means to rebuild that sense collapse simultaneously. Crisis and emergency risk communication is a vital component to help people cope and begin to rebuild a sense of order and understanding in their lives. Crisis and emergency risk communication can work to counter some of the harmful human behaviors that are known to arise during a crisis. These potentially harmful individual, group, or community behaviors include: (1) Demands for unneeded treatment (2) Disorganized group behavior (stealing/looting) (3) Bribery and fraud (4) Reliance on special relationships (5) Increased alcohol and tobacco use (6) Increased multiple unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) (7) Unreasonable trade and travel restrictions. "Add bad communication practices to a crisis situation and the odds of a negative public response increase". (CDC, CERC, 2002, p. 11)