Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T03:56:16.477Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Evaluation of the Efficacy of Psychological Interventions in Promoting Preparedness to Armed Conflicts – A Randomized Controlled Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2018

Moran Bodas ,
Maya Siman-Tov ,
Shulamith Kreitler  and
Kobi Peleg
Moran Bodas*
Affiliation:
The Department of Disaster Medicine and Injury Prevention, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Maya Siman-Tov
Affiliation:
Israel National Center for Trauma & Emergency Medicine Research, The Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Shulamith Kreitler
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Sciences, Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Israel and Psychooncology Research Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Kobi Peleg
Affiliation:
The Department of Disaster Medicine and Injury Prevention, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Moran Bodas, The Department of Disaster Medicine & Injury Prevention, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, P.O. Box 39040, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978 Israel (e-mail: [email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective

Despite efforts by civil defense authorities, levels of households’ preparedness to emergencies remain insufficient in many countries. Engaging the public in preparedness behavior is a challenge worldwide. The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of psychological intervention in promoting preparedness behavior to armed conflicts in Israel.

Methods

A randomized controlled trial (N = 381) with two control groups and three intervention groups was used. The psychological interventions studied were elevated threat perception, external reward, and manipulation of a cognitive cluster related to preparedness.

Results

The results of the analysis suggest a significant effect of intervention on the increase of reported preparedness (F4,375 = 4.511, P = 0.001). The effect is attributed to the intervention group in which external reward was offered. Participants in this group were about two times more likely to report greater levels of preparedness compared to the control group (RR = 1.855; 95% CI: 1.065, 3.233).

Conclusions

The findings suggest that preparedness behavior can be promoted through external incentives. These are presumably effective motivators because they encourage preparedness while allowing subjects to retain their denial as an adaptive coping mechanism. Innovative thinking is required to overcome the psychological barriers associated with public reluctance to engage in preparedness. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;13:713–723)

Keywords

health behaviorincentivepreparednesspsychological interventionsvictimization
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 713 - 723
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Peek, LA, Mileti, DS. The history of disaster research. In: Bechtel RB, Churchman A, eds. Handbook of Environmental Psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 2002.Google Scholar
Hémond, Y, Robert, B. Preparedness: the state of the art and future prospects. Disaster Prev Manag. 2012;21(4):404-417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norris, FH. Frequency and structure of precautionary behavior in the domains of hazard preparedness, crime prevention, vehicular safety, and health maintenance. Health Psychol. 1997;16(6):566-575.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paton, D. Disaster preparedness: a social-cognitive perspective. Disaster Prev Manag. 2003;12(3):210-216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olympia, RP, Rivera, R, Heverley, S, et al. Natural disasters and mass-casualty events affecting children and families: a description of emergency preparedness and the role of the primary care physician. Clin Pediatr. 2010;49(7):686-698.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levac, J, Toal-Sullivan, D, O’Sullivan, TL. Household emergency preparedness: a literature review. J Comm Health. 2012;37(3):725-733.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Becker, JS, Paton, D, Johnston, DM, Ronan, KR. Salient beliefs about earthquake hazards and household preparedness. Risk Anal. 2013;33(9):1710-1727.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roudini, J, Khankeh, HR, Witruk, E. Disaster mental health preparedness in the community: a systematic review study. Health Psychol Open. 2017;4(1):1-12. doi:10.1177/2055102917711307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bodas, M, Siman-Tov, M, Kreitler, S, Peleg, K. Assessment of emergency preparedness of households in Israel to war – current status. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2015;9(4):382-390.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bodas, M, Siman-Tov, M, Kreitler, S, Peleg, K. Perception of the threat of war in Israel-implications for future preparedness planning. Israel J Health Policy Res. 2015;4(1):35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bodas, M, Siman-Tov, M, Kreitler, S, Peleg, K. Psychological correlates of civilian preparedness to armed conflicts. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2017;11(4):451-459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bodas, M, Siman-Tov, M, Peleg, K, Kreitler, S. The role of victimization in shaping household preparedness to armed conflicts in Israel. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2017;12(1):67-75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirschenbaum, A. Preparing for the inevitable: environmental risk perceptions and disaster preparedness. Int J Mass Emerg Disaster. 2005;23(2):97.Google Scholar
Soffer, Y, Goldberg, A, Adini, B, et al. The relationship between demographic/educational parameters and perceptions, knowledge and earthquake mitigation in Israel. Disasters. 2011;35(1):36-44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Becker, MH. The health belief model and personal health behavior. Health Educ Monogr. 1974;2:324-473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bodas, M. The dark side of the (preparedness) moon: why promoting public preparedness remains challenging. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2018.70.Google ScholarPubMed
Rüstemli, A, Karanci, AN. Correlates of earthquake cognitions and preparedness behavior in a victimized population. J Soc Psychol. 1999;139(1):91-101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Globes Online – Israel Business News. Israelis queue hours for gas masks. Published August 28, 2013. http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-1000875809. Accessed August 15, 2018.Google Scholar
Nirel, N. Letter from the Applied Statistic Laboratory, Department of Statistics, Hebrew University (Jerusalem) to the iPanel company. April 20, 2011. (In Hebrew).Google Scholar
Survey Monkey. Sample size calculator. https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/sample-size-calculator/. Accessed August 15, 2018.Google Scholar
Kreitler, S, Kreitler, H. The motivational and cognitive determinants of defense mechanisms. Adv Psychol. 2004;136:195-238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewinsohn, PM, Mischel, W, Chaplin, W, Barton, R. Social competence and depression: the role of illusory self-perceptions. J Abnorm Psychol. 1980;89(2):203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sackeim, HA. Self-deception, self-esteem, and depression: the adaptive value of lying to oneself. Emp Stud Psychoanal Theor. 1983;1:101-157.Google Scholar
Lazarus, RS. The costs and benefits of denial. In: Lazarus RS, ed. Fifty Years of the Research and Theory of RS Lazarus: An Analysis of Historical and Perennial Issues. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum; 1998:227-251.Google Scholar
Cameron, LD, Leventhal, H. The Self-Regulation of Health and Illness Behaviour. London: Routledge; 2003.Google Scholar
Kamen, C, Taniguchi, S, Student, A, et al. The impact of denial on health-related quality of life in patients with HIV. Qual Life Res. 2012;21(8):1327-1336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, RM, Deci, EL. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. Am Psychol. 2000;55(1):68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kreitler, S, Kreitler, H. Cognitive orientation and physical disease or health. Eur J Personal. 1991;5(2):109-129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carbone, EG, Echols, ET. Effects of optimism on recovery and mental health after a tornado outbreak. Psychol Health. 2017;32(5):530-548.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed