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

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

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-7-157

Abstract

BackgroundCommunity-wide preparedness for pandemic influenza is an issue that has featured prominently in the recent news media, and is currently a priority for health authorities in many countries. The small and medium business sector is a major provider of private sector employment in Australia, yet we have little information about the preparedness of this sector for pandemic influenza. This study aimed to investigate the association between individual perceptions and preparedness for pandemic influenza among small and medium business owners and managers.MethodsSemi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 201 small and medium business owners or managers in New South Wales and Western Australia. Eligible small or medium businesses were defined as those that had less than 200 employees. Binomial logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of having considered the impact of, having a plan for, and needing help to prepare for pandemic influenza.ResultsApproximately 6 per cent of participants reported that their business had a plan for pandemic influenza, 39 per cent reported that they had not thought at all about the impact of pandemic influenza on their business, and over 60 per cent stated that they required help to prepare for a pandemic. Beliefs about the severity of pandemic influenza and the ability to respond were significant independent predictors of having a plan for pandemic influenza, and the perception of the risk of pandemic influenza was the most important predictor of both having considered the impact of, and needing help to prepare for a pandemic.ConclusionOur findings suggest that small and medium businesses in Australia are not currently well prepared for pandemic influenza. We found that beliefs about the risk, severity, and the ability to respond effectively to the threat of pandemic influenza are important predictors of preparedness. Campaigns targeting small and medium businesses should emphasise the severity of the consequences to their businesses if a pandemic were to occur, and, at the same time, reassure them that there are effective strategies capable of being implemented by small and medium businesses to deal with a pandemic.

Highlights

Community-wide preparedness for pandemic influenza is an issue that has featured prominently in the recent news media, and is currently a priority for health authorities in many countries
The representation of businesses from different industry types was significantly different by state, with the Western Australia (WA) sample having a higher proportion of retailers (Table 1) and reporting a significantly lower proportion of university educated staff compared with the New South Wales (NSW) sample (Table 2)
We found that only a small proportion of businesses studied had thought a lot about how pandemic influenza may impact on their business, that few had made any specific plans to protect their staff or their business in the event of pandemic influenza, and that over 60 per cent state they need help to prepare for pandemic influenza

Summary

Introduction

Community-wide preparedness for pandemic influenza is an issue that has featured prominently in the recent news media, and is currently a priority for health authorities in many countries. The small and medium business sector is a major provider of private sector employment in Australia, yet we have little information about the preparedness of this sector for pandemic influenza. Strategic plans have been prepared for an outbreak of pandemic influenza associated with human avian influenza infection at national and global levels [1,2]. Many of these plans include mechanisms to facilitate and manage community-wide responses in recognition of the likelihood that pandemic response requirements will exceed the response capacity of health authorities and governments. Pandemic influenza is likely to have a major impact on businesses, yet little is known about the needs and preparedness of small and medium sized businesses

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