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Volume 13, Number 9—September 2007
Research

Precautionary Behavior in Response to Perceived Threat of Pandemic Influenza

M. Zia Sadique*†Comments to Author , W. John Edmunds*, Richard D. Smith‡, William Jan Meerding§, Onno de Zwart§¶, Johannes Brug§, and Philippe Beutels#
Author affiliations: *Health Protection Agency, London, United Kingdom; †City University, London, United Kingdom; ‡London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom; §University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; ¶Municipal Public Health Service, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; #Antwerp University, Antwerp, Belgium;

Main Article

Table 3

Perception of risk for hypothetical pandemic influenza, Europe and Asia

Variable Sample size* Europe, % (SD) Asia, % (SD) H0: proportions (E) – proportions (A) = 0†
Riskiest place
Public transportation 1,700 56 (0.50) 50 (0.50) 0.0234
Entertainment 1,793 43 (0.50) 52 (0.50) 0.0004
Shop 1,702 30 (0.46) 28 (0.45) 0.4340
Work/school 1,668 27 (0.45) 23 (0.42) 0.0444
Hospital 1,749 41 (0.49) 39 (0.49) 0.4025
Family
1,696
3.4 (0.18)
5 (0.22)
0.1190
Precautionary behavior
Avoid public transportation 1,341 79 (0.41) 74 (0.44) 0.0418
Avoid entertainment 1,263 79 (0.41) 33 (0.47) 0.0000
Limit shopping to essentials 1,355 69 (0.46) 59 (0.49) 0.0002
Be absent from work 1,307 35 (0.48) 52 (0.50) 0.0000
Keep children from school 349‡ 59 (0.49) 39 (0.49) 0.0002
Limit contact with friends/family 1,293 45 (0.50) 52 (0.50) 0.0100
Avoid seeing doctors 1,310 22 (0.42) 34 (0.47) 0.0000
Stay indoors 1,316 24 (0.43) 35 (0.48) 0.0000

*Sample size represents the number of persons randomly chosen to answer each option.
†H0, null hypothesis that difference between European (E) and Asian (A) proportions is not statistically significant. Significant differences using p value of t test.
‡This question was asked of only the 349 respondents who had a child going to school.

Main Article

Page created: July 01, 2010
Page updated: July 01, 2010
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