Risk communication: Community response to pandemic flu preparedness messaging

While there is consistent evidence which demonstrates the vulnerability of racial and ethnic minorities in a disaster, very little direction has been given to culturally-specific emergency messaging. Minority groups are often socially isolated, less trusting of public authority and adhere to a diverse range of religious and political ideologies. Previous studies have identified differences in dependency on government depending on strength of social networks and variation in trusted sources of emergency information. There is also an overall agreement regarding the need for further knowledge of effective emergency messaging campaigns. Over the course of two community-based research projects conducted by the researchers with New York City agencies, we have explored community and ethnic variation in post-disaster expectations, comprehension and retention of pandemic flu preparedness messages, and potential behavior changes. Six geographically distinct communities in the city were studied, identified as those that were reasonably homogeneous as African-American, Jamaican, Indian, Greek, Dominican, and Chinese populations. Findings from these studies suggest wide variations in cultural worldviews associated with large-scale contagion events; social patterns, norms, and expectations influencing responsiveness or attentiveness to emergency messaging; and the potential for community-specific messaging strategies.