Level Of Perceived Risk Research Articles

Investigation of Knowledge and Awareness about Food Nanotechnology of Nutrition and Dietetics Students

In this study, it was aimed to examine the knowledge and awareness levels of nutrition and dietetics department students about food nanotechnology. This descriptive study was conducted with 242 students aged 18 and over who were studying at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics.52.1% of the participants are 22 years old and over, and 66.9% have heard of the concept of food nanotechnology (nano food). In the study, it was determined that the level of knowledge and awareness about food nanotechnology was high among those who had heard of the concept of food nanotechnology (nano food) before (p=0.017) and those who had knowledge of food nanotechnology (nano food) (p=0.000). Those who think that smart packaging systems that provide information about the quality of packaged food during storage and transportation will not be useful (p=0.001), those who think that smart packaging methods will be preferred instead of traditional packaging techniques with the development of nanotechnology (p=0.000), have ethical concerns about the use of nanotechnology in the field of food. The level of knowledge and awareness about food nanotechnology was found to be high among those who thought that the use of nanotechnology in the field of food was very low (p=0.000) and those who stated that the perceived risk level was very low (p=0.000). It shows that nutrition and dietetics students have limited knowledge about the wide application of food nanotechnology.

사회적 크라우딩과 전문가 생성 콘텐츠가 소비자 정보 채택에 미치는 영향

Social media marketing has become an integral part of integrated marketing communications, playing a significant role in establishing strong relationships between businesses and consumers. The study focuses on categorizing content generated by professional bloggers into experiential and promotional types, considering that consumers’ levels of product information and risk perception vary, influencing their intent to adopt information.
 Therefore, businesses should select appropriate environments based on the type of product content to enhance consumer’ willingness to adopt information. Consequently, the exploration of how to effectively increase consumers’ intent to adopt information by selecting environments is a relevant issue. In this study, the common social phenomenon of social crowding is explored visually, applying the heuristic-systematic model theory. The study investigates the impact of social crowding and professional blogger content types on consumers’ intent to adopt information. The research hypotheses were validated through three experiments, demonstrating that the interaction effect between professional user-generated content types and social crowding influences consumer information adoption. Furthermore, information processing fluency showed a mediating effect on the impact of professional generated content types and social crowding on consumer information adoption. The study also verified a moderating effect of consume knowledge levels on the interaction effect between professional generated content types and social crowding on consumer information adoption.
 Theoretically, this study enriches research in the fields of social crowding and content marketing, providing insights for businesses in formulating marketing strategies. It emphasizes the importance of selecting appropriate social crowding situations for various types of content marketing activities.

Socio-demographic determinants of earthquake risk perception: the case of the Corinthiakos Gulf, in Greece

AbstractRisk perception has been widely recognized as an essential factor in shaping attitudes and behaviors of individuals and communities proactively, during and after the experience of extreme catastrophic events. Its importance derives out mostly due to its intrinsic relationship with socioeconomic parameters and capacity building of communities affected by such events. The aim of this paper was to elaborate on the demographic and socioeconomic determinants of earthquake risk perception of populations living in an extremely earthquake-prone environment. For this purpose, a population sample of municipalities in the Corinthiakos Gulf in Central West Greece was examined. The sample (230 men and 276 women) was randomly selected from three coastal municipalities of the Gulf: Aigialeia, Nafpaktia and Corinthos. Multi-adjusted linear regression analysis was performed to reveal the determinants of the participants’ perceptions regarding earthquake risk. Findings revealed that mean earthquake risk perception score was moderate in both men and women and notably lower for the participants living in the municipality of Nafpaktia, as compared to the participants of the other two study areas. Earthquake risk perception varied significantly according to age, sex, income and building construction period (of assets resided or used by the participants). Younger strata, especially young men, and households of lower-income status tend to correlate to lower earthquake risk perception. Moreover, individuals living in newly constructed buildings presented lower earthquake risk perception levels. Also, increased individuals’ earthquake safety information provided by state agencies and local civil protection authorities was associated with increased risk perception. Issues like education, household structure, building earthquake insurance, savings and trust in civil protection authorities were not associated with risk perception. From a policy design point of view, such findings provide noteworthy insights for local communities and civil protection authorities allowing to identify vulnerable population groups and to provide noteworthy insights to design targeted measures and policies in the making of a safe and resilient environment.

Analyzing Risk Perception, Evacuation Decision and Delay Time: A Case Study of the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado

Climate change is increasing the threat of wildfires to populated areas, especially those within the wildland-urban interface (WUI). The 2021 Marshall fire forced the evacuation of over 30,000 people in Boulder, Jefferson and Adams Counties in Colorado, US. To improve our understanding of wildfire evacuation response, we surveyed individuals affected by the Marshall fire to analyze their evacuation decisions and resulting behavior. We used linear and logistic regression models to determine the factors influencing individuals’ risk perceptions, their decisions to evacuate or stay, and the associated evacuation delay times. We found higher levels of risk perception at the time of the evacuation decision were associated with higher levels of pre-fire perceived risk, having mid-level household income, the receipt of fire cues and having a medical condition. Increased pre-event risk perception increased the likelihood of evacuating, along with gender (female-identified), being aged between 55 and 64 years, and having a higher household income. On the other hand, having a prior awareness of wildfires had a negative effect on evacuation likelihood. Additionally, having previous experience with fire damage, owning their home, having a larger household size and being alerted later in the fire event reduced the delay time; whereas engaging in preparation activities and having children in the home led to longer delay times. These research findings can be used by emergency managers to better prepare WUI communities for future wildfire events.

Perception of HIV-related behavior and influencing factors among young students in Guangzhou

Objective: To investigate the risk perception for risky behavior of HIV/AIDS infection among young students and to analyze the related influencing factors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 5 different types of Guangzhou colleges from September to November 2021, in which convenience sampling and a minimum number of classes per grade and 600 samples per school were used according to the national unity program. Disordered multi-classification logistic regression was used to construct a risk perception model and analyze influencing factors in different risk perception levels. Results: A total of 7 346 young students were surveyed, and most rated themselves at low risk of HIV/AIDS infections (90.58%, 6 654/7 346). A total of 89.10% (6 545/7 346) of subjects' perception of their HIV/AIDS infection risk was consistent with their risk behavior, while 10.90% (801/7 346) was inconsistent. Among those inconsistent subjects, 19.10% (153/801) showed underestimating their risk , while 80.90% (648/801) seen overestimating their risk. Disordered multi-classification logistic regression analysis showed that, after controlling for other factors, compared with the non-sexual group, respondents whose first sex age under 18 had a higher rate of underestimating their risk of infection (OR=129.39, 95%CI: 73.28-228.48), as well as a higher rate of overestimated their risk of infection (OR=1.76, 95%CI: 1.04-2.99). First sexual intercourse at age 18 or older was a risk factor for underestimating risk (OR=70.56, 95%CI: 42.72-116.53), but was not statistically associated with overestimating risk. Being female, other school type, non-heterosexual orientation, and self-rated HIV-related knowledge as fair or no knowledge were risk factors for overestimating risk but were not statistically associated with underestimating risk. Conclusions: Overall, young students in universities of Guangzhou have a good risk perception of HIV/AIDS infection. Individual factors, education factors and sexual experience will influence students' risk perception of HIV/AIDS infection. Raising the awareness rate of HIV/AIDS knowledge and delaying the age of first sexual intercourse will improve the risk perception ability of young students.

Thoughts, perceptions and concerns of coastal residents regarding the discharge of tritium-containing treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean

BackgroundAs a part of the decontamination process after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident of 2011, 1.32 million tonnes of tritium-containing water will be discharged from the power plant into the Pacific Ocean. Although radiobiological impacts of the treated water discharge on the public and the environment were reported to be minimal, Tomioka and Okuma locals expressed unease regarding the long-term recovery of their towns, which are economically dependent on the agricultural, fishery, and tourism sectors. This study presents thoughts, perceptions and concerns of Tomioka and Okuma locals regarding the discharge of FDNPP-treated water containing tritium into the Pacific Ocean to facilitate a more inclusive decision-making process that respects local stakeholder interests.MethodsConducted from November to December 2022, surveys were mailed to current residents and evacuees aged 20 years or older registered with the town councils.ResultsOut of 1268 included responses, 71.5% were from those > 65 years. 65.6% were unemployed, 76.2% routinely visited hospitals, and 85.5% did not live with children. 61% did not want to return to Okuma/Tomioka. Anxiety about radiation-related health effects (38.7%), consuming food produced in Okuma/Tomioka (48.0%) and genetic effects (45.3%) were low. >50% reported poor physical and mental health. 40% were acceptive, 31.4% were unsure, and 29.7% objected to the discharge plans. Multinomial regression analysis revealed that, compared to acceptive responders, those who objected were more likely to be female, unemployed, and have anxiety about radiation-related genetic effects and poor mental health. Unsure responders were similarly more likely to be female, anxious about radiation-related genetic effects and have poor mental health.ConclusionThe poor mental health of the locals, connected to high levels of risk perception and anxiety about the loss of economic opportunities related to the discharge plans, must be addressed. The 30-year discharge process could handicap local industries and hamper post-disaster socioeconomic recovery due to the circulation of false rumours among consumers. These results highlight the need to actively involve residents in the towns’ recovery process to address local concerns. The focus should be on the judicious combination of transparent science with the human aspect of recovery and narratives highlighting dialogues between local stakeholders and experts to enable the locals and the general public to make informed decisions about their protection and future.

Does COVID-19 vaccination affect post-traumatic stress symptoms via risk perception? A large cross-sectional study among the Chinese population

ObjectivesAlthough infection rates may increase after relaxation of the zero COVID strategy, the extensive vaccination campaign in China could potentially curb the spread of COVID-19, which may be associated with a low level of risk perception and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). However, the relationship between vaccination, risk perception and PTSS has not been studied extensively. This study aims to examine the associations between the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses, consistency in the type of each dose and time since vaccination with PTSS, and the mediating role of risk perception on such relationships in China. Study designCross-sectional sampling with a self-report questionnaire was used to measure vaccination, PTSS and risk perception. MethodsThe survey was conducted in Beijing, China, from 13 January to 9 February 2023. Linear regression analyses were conducted to test the relationship between vaccination, risk perception and PTSS. ResultsThe analysis included 55,803 individuals. In total, 72.86 % of participants received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Regression results indicated that people with two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had a lower level of PTSS (β = −1.232, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: −1.930, −0.534) than those who had not received any doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Only the negative relationship between two-dose vaccination and PTSS was mediated by risk perception, while the negative relationship between the time since vaccination and PTSS was suppressed by risk perception. ConclusionsThis study showed that receiving the COVID-19 vaccine reduced PTSS by decreasing perceived risk. Vaccination time was negatively associated with PTSS, but this relationship was suppressed by risk perception.

Influence mechanism of coping behaviours for natural hazards: Empirical study in Henan, China

Natural hazards caused by climate change have increased in frequency in recent years, causing global threats to life and economic losses. Appropriate coping behaviours can help reduce disaster risks and protect lives and property. However, the mechanisms underlying the influence of different coping behaviours remain poorly understood. This study collected questionnaire data from Henan Province, China, and used a structural equation model to explore the influencing factors, influence degree, and influence path of positive, negative, and risky coping behaviours. The results showed that (1) the level of risk perception increased with increasing familiarity with disasters and information about consequence severity and with decreasing trust in authorities. Perceived controllability improved with increased familiarity with disasters, trust in authorities, and reduced information about consequence severity; (2) risk perception and perceived controllability moderated the impact of familiarity with disasters, information about consequence severity, and trust in authorities for three different coping behaviours; (3) information about consequence severity was the greatest driving force affecting positive coping behaviours and negative coping behaviours and the degree of trust in the authorities was the greatest driving force affecting risky coping behaviours. These findings provide a reference for the government to guide the public to adopt positive coping behaviours and reduce the risks of natural hazards.

Cardiovascular disease risk perceptions and influencing factors among Chinese systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus patients (SLE) are at a higher risk of cardiovascular events than the general population. This study aimed to investigate the risk perception of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and to analyze its influence factors among Chinese SLE patients. This was a cross-sectional study. Convenience sampling was used to select 201 patients with SLE who had attended the outpatient and inpatient departments of the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology at the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China from November 2022 to March 2023. The following were used in the study: the Chinese version of the Attitudes and Beliefs about Cardiovascular Disease Risk Questionnaire, the Social Support Rating Scale, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Health Literacy Management Scale, and sociodemographic and disease-related data. The mean (standard deviation) risk perception score of CVD patients with SLE was 57.18 ± 13.02. A Pearson correlation analysis showed that CVD risk perceptions were positively correlated with health literacy (r = 0.152, p < .05) and depression (r = 0.277, p < .05), and negatively correlated with social support (r = -0.393, p < .05) and psychological resilience (r = -0.374, p < .05). A multiple linear regression analysis showed that body mass index (BMI), family history, health literacy, depression, social support, and psychological resilience were the main factors influencing CVD risk perceptions among Chinese SLE patients (p < .05). Body mass index, family history, health literacy, depression, social support, and psychological resilience influenced CVD risk perceptions among Chinese SLE patients. Healthcare workers should objectively and accurately assess the levels of CVD risk perception among SLE patients, identify the risk factors of CVD, adopt effective health risk communication strategies to help patients develop appropriate risk perceptions, and raise risk awareness to adopt active coping approaches to reduce risk.

Rethinking the interaction between resilience and well-being through place attachment: A case study of flood-prone urban communities in Indonesia

ABSTRACT This study investigates the extent to which risk perception regarding disasters among individuals living in slum areas interrelates with their material well-being in determining their place attachment, which may affect their household resilience. To assess this, we take relevant measures from previous studies and run a confirmatory factor analysis to test their validity. All the measures are shown to have a good fit with the data. Our findings reveal a significant mediational relationship between measures of material well-being and household resilience through place attachment although, counterintuitively, the mediated relationship between subjective material well-being and household resilience was negative. The mediated relationship is only valid for the subjective material well-being predictor and among those with a high level of risk perception. These findings suggest that risk perception determines the way an individual’s subjective material well-being predicts their attachment to their living place, which relates to their household resilience.

Cultural worldviews and support for governmental management of COVID-19

This article addresses public attitudes towards government measures to contain preventable diseases in China in light of personal privacy and social safety controversies. Using a nationwide Internet survey of 776 Chinese adults and an online worldview database, we seek to explain the reason for causing differing public opinions on prevention policies and related governance issues. As Cultural Theory suggests, cultural biases impact public attitudes toward social policies. However, to our knowledge, culture theory has rarely been used to explain public differences in policies in China. So, study 1 conducted an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and found that the four-factor model of cultural worldviews: egalitarianism, hierarchy, individualism, and fatalism is still a feasible assessment tool for worldviews. Then, in studies 2–4, we explored how cultural worldviews influence Chinese public policy support. Study 2 involved an online worldview database and found that by trusting the government, hierarchists trust the policies proposed by the government. Study 3 and Study 4, based on the revised cultural scale in Study 1 and surveys during the epidemic period, found that compared to hierarchists and egalitarians, fatalists and individualists were less likely to support COVID-19 responses. In study 3, we further found that along with the risk perception levels growing, fatalists’ resistance towards epidemic prevention policies will disappear under high-risk perception conditions. Study 4 also found that hierarchists and egalitarians with higher trust in government tend to support COVID-19 responses. Hierarchists will be more supportive of the government with the increased public’s perceived threats. In conclusion, cultural worldviews have different impacts on policy support, and the relationship between cultural worldviews and policy support is influenced by public attitudes toward authorities and the perceived threats they face. Lastly, risk management and communication implications are discussed, such as establishing trust between individuals and authorities.

The Influence of Risk Perception on Business Model Innovation

Entrepreneurship in Indonesia is believed to be poorly developed compared to other Asian countries. Many efforts have been done to foster the entrepreneurial spirit, particularly the ways to change the mindset of young people that when they graduate from universities, seeking for jobs is not the only option. They can also be entrepreneurs. The lack of students' interest in the business and entrepreneurship is influenced by the perception of risk in business model innovation. Risk perception is the evaluation of people's decision making that is associated with a particular scenario. This study aims to empirically examine the effect of risk perception on business model innovation and measure the influence level of risk perception on business model innovation. This analysis uses the independent variable; the perception of risk. The dependent variable is business model innovation.. The researchers set some criteria to choose some respondents such as the active status of students at Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Garut University. The reason for choosing the entrepreneurship students because they have learned more about entrepreneurial procedures so that they have a better understanding of risk perceptions of business model innovation. Researchers used a causal research design on 30 respondents. Data were collected by distributing online questionnaires via e-mail and analyzed using SPSS 25 software. The statistical method used simple linear regression analysis, with hypothesis testing the t-statistic test. The results of this study indicate that risk perception has a significantly positive effect on business model innovation. This research has an impact for business actors to continue to consider risk perceptions because it has an influence on business model innovation.

Risk perception predicts post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic in China: the mediation effect of engaging in health-protective behaviors

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the public to enormous health risks and induced wide-ranging impacts on people’s mental health. Post-traumatic growth is a possible psychological benefits that may occur during struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. This research explored 1) demographics differences on risk perception of COVID-19 pandemic, engagement in health-protective behavior and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic; and 2) the mediation effect of engaging in health-protective behaviors between risk perception and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Females showed a significant higher level of engagement in health-protective behaviors. People who were married reported a significantly higher level of risk perception, engagement in health-protective behavior and post-traumatic growth than those who were in other marital status (i.e. single, divorced, widowed). People who had acquaintances being infected with COVID-19 reported significant higher level of risk perception and engagement in health-protective behaviors. Engagement in health-protective behaviors mediated the relationship between risk perception and post-traumatic growth. Implications of the results for public health interventions are discussed.

Preparedness and perception of pandemics among medical students

Background: Infectious diseases continue to pose a serious threat to public health as pandemic or epidemic. Good knowledge about the emerging diseases and perception about the severity of disease is important to control these situations. The current study was undertaken to assess the preparedness of medical students in terms of level of knowledge, perception and willingness to volunteer during pandemics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 medical students using simple random sampling method. A self-structured and validated questionnaire was used to collect data which was then analyzed using frequencies, mean, t-test, Chi square test and ANOVA. Results: The overall knowledge scores among majority (59.8%) students belonged to ‘very good’ category while 7.5% obtained ‘unsatisfactory’ scores. Mean scores for knowledge were significantly different in different stratified groups. One third participants were stressful during earlier pandemic. 68.5% strongly stated that being healthy and prior vaccination were important factor for preparedness and willingness to volunteer. Besides personal protective equipment (PPE), separate accommodation and transportation for volunteering duration and psychological support are other crucial factors. Conclusions: Majority of the students in the study displayed adequate preparedness in terms of knowledge, awareness and willingness during the recent pandemics. However, the level of risk perception was evident. By imparting good knowledge and prior training about the pandemic, preventive strategies, tackling stress and identifying and addressing other relevant issues, medical college students can prove to be an asset for facing a pandemic like situation in our country.

Developing the Urban Fire Safety Co-Management System in China Based on Public Participation

The new situations, problems, and challenges facing urban fire safety work are gradually increasing in China, so innovating urban fire safety governance modes is an urgent task. In the fire management practice of the Chinese government, the establishment of an urban fire safety co-management system is an important measure for aggregating fire safety management resources and improving the level of urban fire safety prevention, as well as control. In order to reveal and clarify the interacting relationships and influencing mechanisms among multiple subjects in an urban fire safety co-management system, we constructed an urban fire safety co-management game model comprising fire supervision departments, production management units, and the public based on evolutionary game theory. The stability of the urban fire safety co-management game system is explored from the perspective of game subjects. The influencing factors of strategy selection between game subjects in the game system were investigated using numerical simulation analysis. The research results show that elevating the informatization level of co-management, the risk perception level of the public, and the disclosure level of fire safety information are conducive to stimulating the public’s positivity to participate in co-management. Strengthening the accountability of the superior government is conducive to ensuring the supervision level of fire supervision departments. The above measures have positive value for optimizing China’s urban fire safety co-management systems, establishing urban fire safety management synergy, and ensuring the stability of social fire safety situations.

Sociopolitical consequences of COVID‐19 in the Americas, Europe, and Asia: A multilevel, multicountry investigation of risk perceptions and support for antidemocratic practices

AbstractAlthough different social crises may eventually favor undemocratic and authoritarian forms of governance, at some point, such antidemocratic practices require the support of a significant part of the population to be implemented. The present research investigates how and whether the COVID‐19 pandemic might have favoured greater support for antidemocratic governmental practices, on the premise of regaining control and security. Using data from 17 countries (N = 4364) and national‐level indicators (i.e., real number of contagions and deaths, and sociopolitical indicators), we test how the risk of contagion and death from COVID‐19, along with personal orientations (i.e., social dominance orientation [SDO], right‐wing authoritarianism [RWA], and perceived anomie) motivate authoritarian and antidemocratic practices. Results from multilevel models indicate that risk perception and perceptions of political instability predict a wish for stronger leadership, agreement with martial law, and support for a controlling government especially when SDO and RWA are high, while more egalitarian and less conservative people agree less with these authoritarian measures in spite of the levels of risk perception. We discuss the implications for these findings for future research on similar but also dissimilar external events (natural disasters, war, or terror incidents) and the consequences for societies with higher authoritarian tendencies.

The Outrage Effect of Personal Stake, Effect on Children, Dread, and Controllability on COVID-19 Risk Perception Moderated by Media Use

ABSTRACT Public response to the COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to study how lay people’s risk perception involves their emotive responses. We investigated how outrage factors as emotional responses to risk influence levels of risk perception in the context of the pandemic disease. Furthermore, how media use influences the perception of outrage factors is also examined. A nationwide online survey (n = 1,000) was conducted in South Korea. The survey results indicated that pandemic risk perception was connected to the generic intensity of perceived outrage factors as measured by averaging the perception of multiple outrage factors. Individual outrage factors such as personal stake, effect on children, dread, and controllability directly influenced risk perception regarding COVID-19. When the intensity of media use was considered, individuals with heavy media use perceived outrage factors more intensely than those who used media less frequently. Media use also moderated the outrage effect of catastrophic potential and moral nature on the perception of risk associated with the pandemic disease. For heavy media users, the outrage effect of moral nature was increased, while that of catastrophic potential decreased. The implications of the outrage effect on the pandemic disease risk perception are addressed. Finally, we discuss the meaning of heavy media users’ varying levels of vulnerability to outrage effect by moral nature and catastrophic potential.

Visitors’ Perceived Crowding, Visual Attention, and COVID Infection Risks in National Parks: A Social Density Optimization Approach

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the complexity of national park visitors’ perceived crowding and visual attention. Decision support frameworks are needed to monitor, quantify, and forecast visitors’ visual attention, perceived risks, and perceived crowding by different social density conditions before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study forecasts temporal patterns of visitors’ perceived crowding by varying perceived risk levels and visual attention in a national park. A mixed-methodology was developed using longitudinal monitoring, visitor surveys (n = 444), and eye-tracking experiments (n = 42). Results suggest that visitors’ perceived crowding and visual attention fluctuate dramatically by varying perceived risk levels. Moreover, Kernel Density analysis and mediation analysis indicate that perceived crowding is associated with inadequate visual attention to natural landscapes, and visual attention is a mediator between perceived risk and perceived crowding. Results developed a real-time analytical approach for visual attention and perceived crowding guided by the dual-process theory and attention restoration theory.

Cyber–Physical–Social Model of Community Resilience by Considering Critical Infrastructure Interdependencies

Each year, several disasters occur, resulting in enormous human, infrastructural, and economic losses. To minimize losses and ensure an adequate emergency response, it is vital to prepare the community for greater shock absorption and recovery after an occurrence. This raises the concept of community resilience and also demands appropriate metrics and prediction models for improved preparedness and adaptability. While a community is impacted in three main ways during a disaster-namely social, physical, and cyber-there are currently no tools to model their interrelationship. Thus, this paper presents a multi-agent cyber-physical-social model of community resilience, taking into account the interconnection of power systems, emergency services, social communities, and cyberspace. To validate the model, we used data on two hurricanes (Irma and Harvey) collected from Twitter, GoogleTrends, FEMA, power utilities, CNN, and Snopes (a fact-checking organization). We also describe methods for quantifying social metrics such as the level of anxiety, risk perception, and cooperation using social sensing, natural language processing, and text mining tools. We examine the suggested paradigm through three different case studies: 1) hurricanes Irma and Harvey; 2) a group of nine agents; and 3) a society comprised of six distinct communities. According to the results, cooperation can positively change individual behavior. Relationships within a community are so crucial that a smaller population with greater empathy may be more resilient. Similar dynamic changes in social characteristics occur when two empathetic communities share resources after a disaster.

Factors Associated with the Usefulness of Public Health Communication in the Context of COVID-19: Lessons Learned from the African, Caribbean, and Black Communities in Ottawa, Ontario.

Public health communication is critical for promoting behaviours that can prevent the transmission of COVID-19. However, there are concerns about the effectiveness of public health communication within Canada's African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities. In the community sample of ACB people in Ottawa, Ontario, we asked community members if they perceive public health message related to COVID-19 to be effective. Using this question, the current study aimed to explore factors associated with the perceived usefulness of public health messages related to COVID-19. Results from the multivariate analysis have shown that ACB people with lower levels of risk perception for COVID-19 were less likely to perceive that public health messages were useful (OR = 0.405, p < 0.01). In addition, mistrust in government COVID-19 information was also negatively associated with their perception that health messages are useful (OR = 0.169, p < 0.01). For socioeconomic status, ACB people with no high school diploma (OR = 0.362, p < 0.05) and income dissatisfaction (OR = 0.431, p < 0.05) were less likely to report the perceived usefulness compared to those with a bachelor's degree and income satisfaction. Based on these findings, we discussed implications for policymakers and directions for future research.