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A Behavioral Theory Framework for Tsunami Preparedness

As stated in the session description “educating the public, counteracting disaster amnesia and preserving the memories of tsunamis for future generations are all important tasks that the tsunami community will be working on for decades.” Perhaps the biggest challenge is motivating coastal communities and individual residents to ACT on the education, knowledge and memories to prepare for future tsunamis. Social scientists developed the Protective Action Decision Model to describe how individuals are motivated to take action to protect themselves from natural and other hazards. Public health researchers have developed and tested health behavior theories for application in campaigns to improve public health. These theories include the health belief model, ecological model and self-efficacy model. According to the health belief model, there are several factors that motivate a change in behavior when a person is faced with a threat. These factors include the extent to which a person feels vulnerable, the perceived danger or severity of the threat, the real or perceived barriers to taking action, and the perceived effectiveness of taking action. The self-efficacy model includes a sense of control, which overlaps with factors in the health belief model. The ecological model of behavior focuses on the social environment, including individual “intrapersonal”, interpersonal, institutional and community factors, as well as public policy. A health promotion program would incorporate elements of these 3 models to motivate behavioral change. A typical health promotion campaign would have the following elements that are directly relevant to tsunami risk reduction: 1) Belief in personal threat, e.g. “I am susceptible to tsunami”; 2) Belief in response efficacy, e.g. “There is something I can do that will lessen tsunami threat”; 3) Belief in personal efficacy, e.g. “ I am capable of taking action”; and 4) Belief that new behaviors are consistent with group norms, e.g. “My peers support this action”.

Session: Six Decades of Tsunami Science: From the Source of the 1964 Tsunami to Modern Community Preparedness - I

Type: Oral

Room: Kahtnu 1

Date: 5/2/2024

Presentation Time: 03:00 PM (local time)

Presenting Author: Lisa Grant Ludwig

Student Presenter: No

Additional Authors