Cited by 228Public Relations and Crisis CommunicationCommunication and COVID-19 ImpactRisk Perception and Management

What have we learned about communication inequalities during the H1N1 pandemic: a systematic review of the literature

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Lin, Leesa, Savoia, Elena, Agboola, Foluso, Viswanath, Kasisomayajula·2014·BMC Public Health

Abstract

BACKGROUND: During public health emergencies, public officials are busy in developing communication strategies to protect the population from existing or potential threats. However, a population's social and individual determinants (i.e. education, income, race/ethnicity) may lead to inequalities in individual or group-specific exposure to public health communication messages, and in the capacity to access, process, and act upon the information received by specific sub-groups- a concept defined as communication inequalities.The aims of this literature review are to: 1) characterize the scientific literature that examined issues related to communication to the public during the H1N1 pandemic, and 2) summarize the knowledge gained in our understanding of social determinants and their association with communication inequalities in the preparedness and response to an influenza pandemic. METHODS: Articles were searched in eight major communication, social sciences, and health and medical databases of scientific literature and reviewed by two independent reviewers by following the PRISMA guidelines. The selected articles were classified and analyzed in accordance with the Structural Influence Model of Public Health Emergency Preparedness Communications. RESULTS: A total of 118 empirical studies were included for final review. Among them, 78% were population-based studies and 22% were articles that employed information environment analyses techniques. Consistent results were reported on the association between social determinants of communication inequalities and emergency preparedness outcomes. Trust in public officials and source of information, worry and levels of knowledge about the disease, and routine media exposure as well as information-seeking behaviors, were related to greater likelihood of adoption of recommended infection prevention practices. When addressed in communication interventions, these factors can increase the effectiveness of the response to pandemics. CONCLUSIONS: Consistently across studies, a number of potential predictors of behavioral compliance to preventive recommendations during a pandemic were identified. Our findings show the need to include such evidence found in the development of future communication campaigns to ensure the highest rates of compliance with recommended protection measures and reduce communication inequalities during future emergencies.

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  • Previous studies have suggested negative associations between the extent of communication inequality and countries' outbreak preparedness, hindering the effectiveness of containment efforts and weakening societies' capability in response to health emergencies.

    “Previous studies have suggested negative associations between the extent of communication inequality and countries’ outbreak preparedness,49,52 hindering the effectiveness of containment efforts and weakening societies’ capability in response to health emergencies.53–55”

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  1. Rubin GJ Potts HW Michie S The impact of communications about swine flu (influenza A H1N1v) on public responses to the outbreak: results from 36 national telephone surveys in the UK - Study 2: Factors predicting likely acceptance of vaccination against swine or seasonal flu Health Technol Assess (Winchester, England) 2010 14 34 183 266 20630124
  2. Rubin GJ Potts HW Michie S The impact of communications about swine flu (influenza A H1N1v) on public responses to the outbreak: results from 36 national telephone surveys in the UK - Study 3: The effects of advertising and media coverage on behavioural change during the early stages of the swine flu Health Technol Assess (Winchester, England) 2010 14 34 183 266 20630124
  3. Keramarou M Cottrell S Evans MR Moore C Stiff RE Elliott C Thomas DR Lyons M Salmon RL Two waves of pandemic influenza A(H1N1) 2009 in Wales--the possible impact of media coverage on consultation rates, April-December 2009 Euro Surveil 2011 16 3 21262184
  4. Sarmiento MP Suarez O Sanabria JA Perez CE Cadena Ldel P Nino ME Knowledge and practices about the prevention and the control of the influenza A H1N1 in the community of Floridablanca, Santander Biomedica 2011 31 1 91 99 22159487

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Authors
Lin, L., Savoia, E., Agboola, F., & Viswanath, K.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author
Lin, Leesa
Venue
BMC Public Health
Published
2014-05-21
Volume
14
Issue
1
Pages
484-484
ISSN
1471-2458 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2120568830
Cited by
228
References
75
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 53 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 3
FWCI
3.27
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • BMC Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (5PO1TP000307-05, 5p01tp000307-05)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Public Relations and Crisis Communication
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Risk Perception and Management
Keywords
communication inequalities, H1N1 pandemic, pandemic influenza preparedness, social determinants, health communication, information sources, worry, health knowledge, media exposure, information seeking, infection prevention practices, compliance behavior
MeSH terms
Humans, Influenza, Human, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Public Health, Research Design, Socioeconomic Factors, Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype, Healthcare Disparities, Health Communication, Pandemics

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