Monitoring of perceptions, anticipated behavioral, and psychological responses related to H5N1 influenza

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to monitor changes in behavioral and emotional responses to human H5N1 in the community over a 28-month period (from November 2005 to February 2008). METHODS: A total of 3,527 Hong Kong Chinese adults were interviewed by telephone within the framework of six identical cross-sectional surveys carried out during the 28-month study period. Given a hypothetical scenario that two to three new human-to-human H5N1 cases had been reported in Hong Kong, the trends of the respondents in various H5N1-related risk perceptions, anticipated personal psychological responses, and anticipated personal preventive behaviors were investigated. RESULTS: Over time, a decreased proportion of the respondents (1) felt susceptible to contracting H5N1, (2) expected a large outbreak would eventually occur, (3) believed that the impacts of H5N1 were worse than those of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and (4) anticipated adopting more types of preventive measures and experiencing mental distress in the case of a small-scale outbreak in Hong Kong (AOR from 0.27 to 0.43, p < 0.001), but the public remained vigilant on public health behaviors, such as hand-washing. The prevalence of misconceptions on the mode of transmission declined, but remained high; perceptions on the fatality of H5N1 remained largely underestimated. The SARS experience and unconfirmed beliefs about the transmission modes were associated with variables on anticipated preventive behaviors and emotional distress. CONCLUSION: Starting in 2005 through to 2008, respondents perceived a decreasing level of susceptibility, severity, and anticipated stress towards a hypothetical human-to-human H5N1 outbreak, possibly due to the low efficiency of transmission. The public’s general preparedness was still relatively good and rational, even though individual preventive behaviors were less common. However, misconceptions were prevalent among the respondents. Based on these results, public education is warranted to rectify these misconceptions.