ABSTRACT
In 2017 the Measles rubella immunization phenomenon caught the public’s attention. The act of rejection from parents resulted in negative coverage and led the Ministry of Health to a crisis. Public relations is a division whose role is to protect and maintain the reputation of an organization through crisis management actions. The purpose of this research is to explore crisis management conducted by public relations of the Ministry of Health using Situational Crisis Communication Theory. The research method used is a qualitative approach using in-depth interview techniques and by collecting related documents. The results show that the crisis management carried out by the Ministry of Health public relations at the pre-crisis stage was media monitoring. When a crisis occurs, the response classified as a diminished strategy, reducing the negative impact of a crisis. Some of the actions taken are working with the National Committee of Prevention and Eradication of Post-Immunization Events, disseminating releases through the website, communicating with local governments, regional health offices, and utilizing traditional and digital media. In the post-crisis stage, a dialogue was held with the Indonesian Ulema Council to conduct further studies on the halal vaccine. The conclusion in this study shows that the handling of crises occurs because of improved communication and cooperation with stakeholders. The suggestion is that when there is a difference in understanding with the Indonesian Ulema Council, the Ministry of Health’s public relations able to organize faster and effective communication so that the problem can be immediately resolved.
Keywords: Crisis management; scct; immunization; measles; rubella