Abstract
The risk of incidents involving mass decontamination in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear release has increased in recent years, due to technological advances, and the willingness of terrorists to use unconventional weapons. Planning for such incidents has focused on the technical issues involved, rather than on psychosocial concerns. This paper presents a novel experimental study, examining the effect of three different responder communication strategies on public experiences and behaviour during a mass decontamination field experiment. Specifically, the research examined the impact of social identity processes on the relationship between effective responder communication, and relevant outcome variables (e.g. public compliance, public anxiety, and co-operative public behaviour). All participants (n = 111) were asked to visualise that they had been involved in an incident involving mass decontamination, before undergoing the decontamination process, and receiving one of three different communication strategies: 1) ‘Theory-based communication’: Health-focused explanations about decontamination, and sufficient practical information; 2) ‘Standard practice communication’: No health-focused explanations about decontamination, sufficient practical information; 3) ‘Brief communication’: No health-focused explanations about decontamination, insufficient practical information. Four types of data were collected: timings of the decontamination process; observational data; and quantitative and qualitative self-report data. The communication strategy which resulted in the most efficient progression of participants through the decontamination process, as well as the fewest observations of non-compliance and confusion, was that which included both health-focused explanations about decontamination and sufficient practical information. Further, this strategy resulted in increased perceptions of responder legitimacy and increased identification with responders, which in turn resulted in higher levels of expected compliance during a real incident, and increased willingness to help other members of the public. This study shows that an understanding of the social identity approach facilitates the development of effective responder communication strategies for incidents involving mass decontamination.
Highlights
The likelihood of incidents involving chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents has increased in recent years, due to advances in technology [1], and the willingness of terrorists to obtain and use CBRN materials [2,3]
Interventions designed to reduce the risk from CBRN agents, such as decontamination, may be more stressful for those involved than the incident itself, if not managed appropriately [4]
Experiment timing data The times taken for each group to complete the shower process were recorded, and a comparison was made between groups in each of the three communication conditions
Summary
The likelihood of incidents involving chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents has increased in recent years, due to advances in technology [1], and the willingness of terrorists to obtain and use CBRN materials [2,3]. Interventions designed to reduce the risk from CBRN agents, such as decontamination, may be more stressful for those involved than the incident itself, if not managed appropriately [4]. The aim of the study described in this paper was to employ an experimental design to test the effect of three different responder communication strategies on public experiences and behaviour during a mass decontamination field experiment. Decontamination involves those who have potentially been contaminated being asked to undergo a shower, in order to remove any contaminant from the skin. In the UK, the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) have specially designed mass decontamination (MD1) units, which can facilitate the decontamination of up to 150 people per hour [10]
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