Crisis Communication: An Inequalities Perspective on the 2010 Boston Water Crisis

ABSTRACT Objective: Although the field of crisis risk communication has generated substantial research, the interaction between social determinants, communication processes, and behavioral compliance has been less well studied. With the goal of better understanding these interactions, this report examines how social determinants influenced communications and behavioral compliance during the 2010 Boston, Massachusetts, water crisis. Methods: An online survey was conducted to assess Boston residents' knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, mass and interpersonal communication, and preventive behaviors on emergency preparedness topics dealing with the water crisis. Of a total sample of 726 respondents, approximately one-third (n = 267) reported having been affected by the water crisis. Only data from affected participants were analyzed. Results: Following an order to boil water, 87.5% of respondents refrained from drinking unboiled tap water. These behaviors and other cognitive and attitudinal factors, however, were not uniform across population subgroups. All communication and behavioral compliance variables varied across sociodemographic factors. Conclusions: Crisis communication, in conjunction with other public health preparedness fields, is central to reducing the negative impact of sudden hazards. Emergency scenarios such as the Boston water crisis serve as unique opportunities to understand how effectively crisis messages are conveyed to and received by different segments of the population. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2012;6:349-356)

[1]  J. Shortle,et al.  The opportunity cost of time and averting expenditures for safe drinking water , 1993 .

[2]  Anna K. Harding,et al.  Consumer response to public notification , 2000 .

[3]  M. Sinclair,et al.  Safe drinking water: lessons from recent outbreaks in affluent nations , 2005 .

[4]  P. Nsiah-Kumi,et al.  Communicating effectively with vulnerable populations during water contamination events. , 2008, Journal of water and health.

[5]  Baruch Fischhoff,et al.  Evaluating Risk Communications: Completing and Correcting Mental Models of Hazardous Processes, Part II , 1994 .

[6]  Gabriella Rundblad,et al.  Communication, perception and behaviour during a natural disaster involving a 'Do Not Drink' and a subsequent 'Boil Water' notice: a postal questionnaire study , 2010, BMC public health.

[7]  P. Lazarsfeld,et al.  Personal Influence: The Part Played by People in the Flow of Mass Communications , 1956 .

[8]  D. Smith,et al.  Personal emergency preparedness for people with disabilities from the 2006-2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. , 2009, Disability and health journal.

[9]  J. Shortle,et al.  The Value of Preventing Cryptosporidium Contamination , 1998 .

[10]  Cynthia J. Atman,et al.  Designing risk communications , 1994 .

[11]  John H. Sorensen,et al.  Hazard Warning Systems: Review of 20 Years of Progress , 2000 .

[12]  M. Slater,et al.  Audience Responses to a Risk Communication Message in Four Media Formats , 1996 .

[13]  C. Drenzek,et al.  Consequences in Georgia of a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella infections: what you don't know might hurt you. , 1999, American journal of public health.

[14]  Customer perceptions of agency risk communication. , 1995, Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis.

[15]  Dennis S. Mileti,et al.  Communication of Emergency Public Warnings: A Social Science Perspective and State-of-the-Art Assessment , 1990 .

[16]  B Fischhoff,et al.  Designing risk communications: completing and correcting mental models of hazardous processes, Part I. , 1994, Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis.

[17]  Kathleen J. Tierney,et al.  Implementing A Seismic Computerized Alert Network (SCAN) For Southern California: Lessons And Guidance From The Literature On Warning Response And Warning Systems , 2000 .

[18]  C Platt,et al.  Effect of a boil water notice on behaviour in the management of a water contamination incident. , 2000, Communicable disease and public health.

[19]  Faith Mitchell,et al.  Public Communications and Its Role in Reducing and Eliminating Health Disparities , 2006 .

[20]  Vincent T. Covello,et al.  Risk communication, the West Nile virus epidemic, and bioterrorism: responding to the commnication challenges posed by the intentional or unintentional release of a pathogen in an urban setting , 2001, Journal of Urban Health.

[21]  Gary L. Kreps,et al.  The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS): Development, Design, and Dissemination , 2004, Journal of health communication.

[22]  A V Swan,et al.  Compliance with advice to boil drinking water during an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis. Outbreak Investigation Team. , 2000, Communicable disease and public health.

[23]  D. Glik.  Risk communication for public health emergencies. , 2007, Annual review of public health.

[24]  D. Swerdlow,et al.  A community waterborne outbreak of salmonellosis and the effectiveness of a boil water order. , 1997, American journal of public health.

[25]  D. Watts,et al.  Influentials, Networks, and Public Opinion Formation , 2007 .

[26]  V T Covello,et al.  The Determinants of Trust and Credibility in Environmental Risk Communication: An Empirical Study , 1997, Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis.

[27]  Faith Mitchell,et al.  Examining the Health Disparities Research Plan of the National Institutes of Health , 2006 .

[28]  Elizabeth A. Casman,et al.  An Integrated Risk Model of a Drinking‐Water – Borne Cryptosporidiosis Outbreak , 2000, Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis.