Influenza pandemic preparedness: motivation for protection among small and medium businesses in Australia

Watkins, Rochelle E; Cooke, Feonagh C; Donovan, Robert J; MacIntyre, C Raina; Itzwerth, Ralf; Plant, Aileen J

In contrast, individual business characteristics were more important predictors of needing help to prepare, with industry type and state being significant predictors in addition to beliefs about risk. Retail traders and businesses that provide property and business services were less likely to report the need for help. Differences in the need for help by industry type, given the significant association between industry type and coping appraisal, suggests that some businesses may have difficulty identifying effective protection strategies that are appropriate for specific high-risk business environments, such as retail outlets. This finding highlights the importance of providing support to identify effective response strategies and overcome response difficulties within all business environments. Furthermore, our finding that the need for help was not significantly related to whether a plan for pandemic influenza exists appears to highlight the difficulties associated with planning for pandemic influenza, even among those businesses that have already made specific plans for pandemic influenza.