Open AccessThe Effects of Community Size, Control Over Agenda, and Contextual Variables on Zika Virus Preparation of Public Information Officers at Local Public Health Departments
Author(s) -
Elizabeth Johnson Avery
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of international crisis and risk communication research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2576-0025
pISSN - 2576-0017
DOI - 10.30658/jicrcr.2.1.5
Subject(s) - zika virus , public health , preparedness , environmental health , control (management) , political science , outbreak , business , public relations , medicine , nursing , virology , law , economics , virus , management
As Zika emerged as a major global health threat, public information officers (PIOs) at local public health departments across the United States prepared for outbreaks of the virus amid great uncertainty. Using the crisis and risk emergency communication (CERC) model to inform this study, PIOs (n = 226) at public health departments were surveyed to assess how community size, perceived control over health agenda, and other considerations such as resources and federal influences affected their satisfaction with Zika preparedness in their departments. These contextual, indirect factors may moderate planning efforts for Zika and other health emergencies and thus should be considered in crisis management and planning models such as CERC.