International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health

作者：August Longino · 发表于：Wilderness and Environmental Medicine · 年份：2015 · DOI：10.1016/j.wem.2014.12.007 · 被引用次数：1121 · 研究领域：Disaster Management and Resilience

A government must be able to effectively relay important public health information to its constituents. Informing the public is a difficult task: during Hurricane Rita, only 31% of the population was even aware of a “Boil Water” notice. This study compares the United Kingdom’s public reaction to the same instruction under different circumstances. When municipal water sources become contaminated, water companies and local press both instruct the public on how to treat their water: Do Not Use, Do Not Drink, or Boil Water. This article compares public response to two different Boil Water notices, one after a routine incident in which a rabbit contaminated a treatment plant, and one after a natural disaster, namely, serious flooding in 2007 that resulted in a 7-day Do Not Drink notice before the Boil Water notice. The researchers specifically analyzed consumers’ compliance, use of information sources, recall of advice received, and satisfaction with information. Data were collected by mailing surveys to 1000 households affected by the routine incident. Surveys were similar to those used to gather data after the 2007 floods. The researchers concluded that the routine incident resulted in greater use of water companies as information sources and greater compliance, as well as greater consumer satisfaction with information. After the floods, water companies and local radio were used an equal amount, but radio was found to be more useful. Noncompliance, defined as drinking water that...