The impacts of age and preparation information on perceived and actual preparedness for a pandemic: A latent class analysis

Abstract

This study examined the age differences in perceived and actual preparedness for a pandemic, the latent classes of preparation information, and the moderating effect of class membership on the age differences observed. Latent class analysis, logistic regression, and Poisson regression were performed based on a sample of 6305 adults from FEMA's 2021 National Household Survey. Four classes were identified concerning disaster preparation information received: class 1 “Insufficient information”, class 2 “Information emphasizing disaster preparedness”, class 3 “Information emphasizing disease preparedness”, and class 4 “Comprehensive information”. Results showed that older adults perceived to be better prepared for a pandemic but engaged in fewer actual preparations relative to younger adults. Compared to people in the “Information emphasizing disease preparedness” class, those in the “Information emphasizing disaster preparedness” class and “Comprehensive information” class were more likely to take actual preparations for a pandemic; When people got older, such gaps increased significantly. These findings highlighted the life course differences in pandemic preparedness and the impacts of different preparation information strategies, which provided important implications for disaster preparedness education and communication campaigns.