{"title":"Politicization of COVID-19 and Conspiratorial Beliefs Among Emergency & Public Health Officials","authors":"S. DeYoung, A. Farmer","doi":"10.1515/jhsem-2021-0072","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In this research, we identified how political beliefs impact emergency manager’s perception of COVID-19 severity and risk. Specifically, we gathered data from people with a broad range of roles in emergency management including healthcare, mitigation, response, fire, rescue, and other areas. We asked respondents their beliefs about the severity of COVID-19, their belief in health conspiracy theories, and the public health measures associated with COVID-19 response. Quantitative results showed political affiliation was a predictor for belief in health conspiracies, as well as beliefs about social distancing as a proper mitigation measure for the spread of COVID-19, and that age and years in emergency management were not significant predictors for beliefs in health conspiracies. Qualitative results included several main themes, including frustration about the politicization of COVID-19 response and mitigation efforts, challenges in PPE (personal protective equipment) procurement, tension between public health and emergency management, misinformation about COVID-19, and lack of leadership at the federal level. These findings fill a gap in the literature regarding how political beliefs shape risk, trust, decision-making, and collaboration within emergency management.","PeriodicalId":46847,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7000,"publicationDate":"2023-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jhsem-2021-0072","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract In this research, we identified how political beliefs impact emergency manager’s perception of COVID-19 severity and risk. Specifically, we gathered data from people with a broad range of roles in emergency management including healthcare, mitigation, response, fire, rescue, and other areas. We asked respondents their beliefs about the severity of COVID-19, their belief in health conspiracy theories, and the public health measures associated with COVID-19 response. Quantitative results showed political affiliation was a predictor for belief in health conspiracies, as well as beliefs about social distancing as a proper mitigation measure for the spread of COVID-19, and that age and years in emergency management were not significant predictors for beliefs in health conspiracies. Qualitative results included several main themes, including frustration about the politicization of COVID-19 response and mitigation efforts, challenges in PPE (personal protective equipment) procurement, tension between public health and emergency management, misinformation about COVID-19, and lack of leadership at the federal level. These findings fill a gap in the literature regarding how political beliefs shape risk, trust, decision-making, and collaboration within emergency management.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management publishes original, innovative, and timely articles describing research or practice in the fields of homeland security and emergency management. JHSEM publishes not only peer-reviewed articles, but also news and communiqués from researchers and practitioners, and book/media reviews. Content comes from a broad array of authors representing many professions, including emergency management, engineering, political science and policy, decision science, and health and medicine, as well as from emergency management and homeland security practitioners.