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

Beliefs about the perceived severity of pandemic influenza and the perceived risk of pandemic influenza to the business were not significantly associated with any business characteristics. Business characteristics which were significant predictors of beliefs about the perceived risk of pandemic influenza and coping appraisal are summarized in Table 3 . The perceived risk of apandemic in Australia was significantly associated with the role of the person interviewed, with non-owners being about twice as likely to consider pandemic influenza as a likely or very likely risk than business owners. Both state and the role of the individual interviewed were significantly associated with response efficacy, with businesses in NSW and non-owners being about twice as likely to be able to identify actions which could protect their business in the event of a pandemic than businesses in WA and owners. Each of the significant predictors of beliefs identified only explained a small proportion (less than 5 per cent) of the overall variance associated with the belief variables.