ABSTRACT
Effective communication is essential before, during, and after public health crises such as hurricanes, oil spills, or COVID-19. When crises threaten public health, decades of communication scholarship can provide guidance regarding which sources should share what messages and when. This chapter provides an overview of the current state of public health crisis communication before explaining three primary types of public health crises (infectious diseases, natural disasters, human-caused disasters), overviewing relevant theories (e.g., crisis and emergency risk communication model, chaos theory), and providing recommendations for future research. This information can help readers better understand strategies for engaging diverse stakeholders to co-construct messages that can help mitigate risk and reduce negative health consequences from public health crises. © 2022 Taylor and Francis
ABSTRACT
Public health officials recommend wearing a mask to reduce the spread of COVID-19, yet individual compliance varies. Understanding the full range of determinants of mask-wearing is critical for promoting evidence-based public health solutions to slow the spread of COVID-19. Using data from a survey of 3,059 respondents across six US states, this study investigates the relationship between psychological factors, including threat- and efficacy-related perceptions, on mask-wearing behavior. It is found that respondents' perceptions of self-efficacy (e.g., ability to wear a mask) and response efficacy (e.g., effectiveness of mask-wearing in reducing COVID-19 transmission) better predict mask-wearing behavior than a number of commonly cited sociodemographic factors. These results suggest that messaging focused on the relative ease and effectiveness of mask wearing may help increase compliance with public health recommendations for mitigating COVID-19. (C) 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.