David Tobey
Indiana University, USA
Title: The role of affect and efficacy in pandemic preparedness: A systematic review
Biography
Biography: David Tobey
Abstract
Pandemic viruses like Dengue Fever, H1N1, MERS-CoV and SARS challenge health services to ensure affected populations are adequately prepared and ready to change behaviors necessary to control spread of the disease. This article focuses on the role of affect and efficacy in reducing the impact of pandemics on the global public health. We report findings of a systematic review of 63 studies that apply social-cognitive theory to understand the psychological factors that determine population behavior in response to a pandemic. This evidence-based analysis reveals the importance of information selection, perception of risk and health self-efficacy, and emotional response to the pandemic in determining population health during an outbreak. Results suggest that health literacy development may need to shift toward health skills training and emphasize the importance of affective communication to motivate behavior change required to mitigate spread of the disease. We conclude with implications of study findings for literacy campaigns associated with population health and medical tourism. Finally, we discuss application of evidence-based argumentation analysis, a rhetorical technique for conducting systematic and meta-analytic reviews, to improve healthcare research and healthcare management practice.