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

A greater understanding of the factors associated with planning for pandemic influenza among small and medium businesses is required to inform communication strategies that promote improved preparedness for a pandemic. Protection motivation theory [9] is a commonly used framework for fear-appeal research [10] . Protection motivation theory conceptualises an individual's acceptance of advice on how to protect themselves from a health threat as primarily a function of four specific beliefs: the perceived severity or seriousness of the threat and the likelihood of the threat occurring (which together constitute 'threat appraisal'); and the perceived effectiveness of actions to avoid the threat and the individual's perceived self-capacity to implement those actions (which together constitute 'coping appraisal'). If a sufficient level of threat is perceived to exist, and coping appraisal is high, then the individual will take appropriate action. However, where a threat appraisal is high but coping appraisal is low, the individual is unlikely to take appropriate action. Protection motivation theory suggests that campaigns using threats must include information about how to avert the threat, and ensure that members of the target audience have the skills and resources necessary to adopt the recommended actions.