Mobilising “vulnerability” in the public health response to pandemic influenza

Stephenson, Niamh; Davis, Mark David McGregor; Flowers, Paul; MacGregor, Casimir; Waller, Emily

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.11.031

Cited by 36 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…The following analysis was generated in international research (Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP1101081) focusing on the responses of members of the general public to the events of 2009 alongside interviews with researchers, clinicians and policy-makers [ 27 , 28 ] and analyses of the public policy texts on pandemic influenza control [ 29 ]. This research has examined general public data in light of sociological and psychological perspectives on responses to pandemic influenza [ 23 , 30 - 33 ]. The present paper synthesises and builds on the research undertaken on the general public, in particular, and introduces new data analysis to address the public health challenge of effective communication and engagement with members of the general public.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond resistance: social factors in the general public response to pandemic influenza

et al. 2015

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BackgroundInfluencing the general public response to pandemics is a public health priority. There is a prevailing view, however, that the general public is resistant to communications on pandemic influenza and that behavioural responses to the 2009/10 H1N1 pandemic were not sufficient. Using qualitative methods, this paper investigates how members of the general public respond to pandemic influenza and the hygiene, social isolation and other measures proposed by public health. Going beyond the commonly deployed notion that the general public is resistant to public health communications, this paper examines how health individualism, gender and real world constraints enable and limit individual action.MethodsIn-depth interviews (n = 57) and focus groups (ten focus groups; 59 individuals) were conducted with community samples in Melbourne, Sydney and Glasgow. Participants were selected according to maximum variation sampling using purposive criteria, including: 1) pregnancy in 2009/2010; 2) chronic illness; 3) aged 70 years and over; 4) no disclosed health problems. Verbatim transcripts were subjected to inductive, thematic analysis.ResultsRespondents did not express resistance to public health communications, but gave insight into how they interpreted and implemented guidance. An individualistic approach to pandemic risk predominated. The uptake of hygiene, social isolation and vaccine strategies was constrained by seeing oneself ‘at risk’ but not ‘a risk’ to others. Gender norms shape how members of the general public enact hygiene and social isolation. Other challenges pertained to over-reliance on perceived remoteness from risk, expectation of recovery from infection and practical constraints on the uptake of vaccination.ConclusionsOverall, respondents were engaged with public health advice regarding pandemic influenza, indicating that the idea of public resistance has limited explanatory power. Public communications are endorsed, but challenges persist. Individualistic approaches to pandemic risk inhibit acting for the benefit of others and may deepen divisions in the community according to health status. Public communications on pandemics are mediated by gender norms that may overburden women and limit the action of men. Social research on the public response to pandemics needs to focus on the social structures and real world settings and relationships that shape the action of individuals.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond resistance: social factors in the general public response to pandemic influenza

et al. 2015

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“…These criteria reflect the epidemiological and policy literature on pandemic influenza (Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing ; Stephenson et al. ). In addition, selection of interviewees was conducted to ensure a balance of male and female participants; a range of ages from 18 years upwards; and a mix of inner‐ and outer‐suburban place of residence.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“We Became Sceptics”: Fear and Media Hype in General Public Narrative on the Advent of Pandemic Influenza

Davis

Lohm

Flowers

et al. 2014

Sociological Inquiry

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In this article, we examine the apparent resistance of publics to messages regarding pandemic influenza. The 2009 H1N1 pandemic was addressed through media: governments used print, broadcast, and digital media to advise publics to enact hygiene practices and comply with social isolation; news media took up the pandemic as a lead story. Publics, however, rated the pandemic as not serious, even before it was widely known that it was mild for most. This problem is presently constructed as complacency: where individuals are seen to lack appropriate motivation to avoid risk. We combine perspectives on media reflexivity on the part of audiences with general public interviews and focus groups in Australia and the UK, to offer an alternative explanation for complacency. Publics endorse public health advice, but are skeptical of pandemic risk communication. They exhibit critical awareness of outbreak narrative and concomitant emotions, such as fear, which are coded into media stories. We, therefore, challenge the view that publics are complacent. Instead, governments must navigate an emerging terrain of ramified and critical media consumption to shape effective risk communication in time of global health emergency.

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“…In fact, HRQoL is identified as an important outcome in interventions aimed at combatting cognitive dysfunction [11]. In dementia, determining HRQoL is limited by cognitive disorders and incorporates external elements in relation to the activities and remaining positive behaviors [12]. Evaluating HRQoL in dementia is feasible in other disorders with similar effects, although in advanced stages of dementia the patient self-assessment is replaced by a reliable informant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validation of the Spanish Version of the ICECAP-O for Nursing Home Residents with Dementia

et al. 2017

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BackgroundMeasurement of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is important for a chronic disease, such as dementia, which impairs the quality of life of affected patients in addition to their length of life. This is important in the context of economic evaluations when interventions do not (only) affect HRQoL and these other factors also affect overall quality of life.ObjectiveTo validate the Spanish translation of the ICECAP-O’s capability to measure Health-related quality of life in elderly with dementia who live in nursing homes.MethodCross-sectional study. For 217 residents living in 8 Spanish nursing homes, questionnaires were completed by nursing professionals serving as proxy respondents. We analyzed the internal consistency and other psychometric properties. We investigated the convergent validity of the ICECAP-O with other HRQoL instruments, the EQ-5D extended with a cognitive dimension (EQ-5D+C), the Alzheimer’s Disease Related Quality of Life (ADRQL) measures, and the Barthel Index measure of activities of daily living (ADL).ResultsThe ICECAP-O presents satisfactory internal consistency (alpha 0.820). The factorial analysis indicated a structure of five principal dimensions that explain 66.57% of the total variance. Convergent validity between the ICECAP-O, EQ-5D+C, ADRQL, and Barthel Index scores was moderate to good (with correlations of 0.62, 0.61, and 0.68, respectively), but differed between dimensions of the instruments. Discriminant validity was confirmed by finding differences in ICECAP-O scores between subgroups based on ADL scores (0.70 low, 0.59 medium, and 0.39 high level care), dementia severity (0.72 mild, 0.63 medium, and 0.50 severe), and ages (0.59 below 75 years and 0.84 above 75 years).ConclusionsThis study presented the first use of a Spanish version of the ICECAP-O. The results indicate that the ICECAP-O appears to be a reliable Health-related quality of life measurement instrument showing good convergent and discriminant validity for people with dementia.

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Mobilising “vulnerability” in the public health response to pandemic influenza

Cited by 36 publications

References 23 publications

Beyond resistance: social factors in the general public response to pandemic influenza

Beyond resistance: social factors in the general public response to pandemic influenza

“We Became Sceptics”: Fear and Media Hype in General Public Narrative on the Advent of Pandemic Influenza

Validation of the Spanish Version of the ICECAP-O for Nursing Home Residents with Dementia

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