The point of no return: Crisis management lessons from US adults' infectious disease risk (IDR) perception and response to the Flu-and-COVID dual threat

Abstract

Crisis learning is essential for improving crisis management. Looking back at how public health crises were managed, crisis scholars and practitioners can garner important future crisis readiness insight in managing critical risks and crises threatening public health and safety. Among existing crisis research examining infectious disease risks (IDRs) and IDR-triggered health crises, few studies have examined how co-existing particular infectious diseases influence individuals' risk perception and crisis responses. To address this gap, the current study provides lessons learned from an online survey, using a nationally representative US adult sample (N = 517), conducted during the early stages of the Coronavirus [COVID-19] outbreak, before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 global pandemic. The unique timing of the online survey allows us to examine: (1) how US adults perceived individual health risks associated with COVID-19 and influenza [the flu], two infectious diseases concurrently discussed and compared by the news media and health experts; and (2) how perceived IDR influences their subsequent behavioral response. Key findings include, first, that the less novel IDR (i.e., the flu) led to higher perceived susceptibility, while the more novel IDR (i.e., COVID-19), at the point of data collection, led to higher perceived severity. Second, IDR susceptibility and severity predicted intention to preventive action when confronted by the flu or COVID-19. Third, individuals' trust in the government moderated risk response by IDR type. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for effective IDR communication in the process of ongoing public crisis management.