RAPID: Responding to Terror of a Different Kind: A National Study of the Ebola Epidemic

10月，一名利比里亚男子在美国土地上被诊断出与埃博拉病毒有关的死亡，以及随后在德克萨斯州达拉斯治疗他的两名护士被诊断出感染埃博拉病毒，这使得埃博拉病毒成为2014年10月美国最受关注的新闻报道，媒体的关注焦点集中在声称？伊波拉歇斯底里？由于埃博拉病毒很罕见，大多数美国人只从传统的（例如，电视、广播）和社交（例如，Facebook、Twitter）媒体来源。然而，基于媒体的信息在疾病如何传播、病例和死亡人数以及受害者可怕的死亡方式方面的准确性和语气各不相同。如果媒体传播不能满足民众的信息和情感需求，就可能无法提供帮助，甚至使事情变得更糟，因为这会破坏公民与当局之间的信任，增加公众的焦虑和自满情绪。这项研究探讨了广泛的埃博拉相关媒体报道在提供人们了解埃博拉相关威胁所需信息方面的有效性。研究小组评估了这种媒体报道如何与埃博拉相关的压力反应联系起来，以及认知和情感因素如何联合收割机在这场公共卫生危机展开时塑造风险评估，行为反应和心理健康结果。在正在进行的研究中，该团队在波士顿马拉松爆炸案（BMB）发生后的18个月内对具有全国代表性的个人样本进行了三次调查。样本包括全国代表性的成年人样本和来自波士顿大都市和纽约的居民代表性子样本。这项新研究涉及对所有可用的受访者立即进行埃博拉威胁的后续调查，包括检查埃博拉相关风险感知和压力反应的预测因素，控制预先存在的心理健康状况，功能，先前的创伤暴露和媒体行为。该研究有三个主要目标：* 估计埃博拉相关的媒体曝光，埃博拉风险认知，对管理（和沟通）埃博拉的机构的信任，以及对感知到的埃博拉威胁的行为和情绪反应。* 调查类型（例如，电视、Twitter、在线新闻），数量（例如，总小时数），和性质（例如，与埃博拉相关的媒体报道的图像类型）与风险感知，以及行为和情绪反应（例如，应激反应、躯体化）。* 调查先前是否暴露于个体（例如，儿童期暴力）和集体（例如，BMB，9/11）压力与埃博拉相关的风险感知以及对埃博拉病毒威胁的行为和情绪反应有关。研究的意义在于审查与风险评估和社区对国家危机的反应有关的问题。研究结果将（a）进一步理解与埃博拉相关的媒体报道在风险认知和应对疫情方面所发挥的作用，（B）促进早期识别公共卫生危机后面临后续困难的风险个体，（c）将压力和应对文献与风险分析和认知文献相结合，（d）帮助政策制定者、服务提供者、媒体专业人员，和教育工作者设计具有成本效益的，基于证据的风险沟通和干预措施，对不同的需求敏感。该项目是为了响应NSF 15-006关于埃博拉病毒的亲爱的同事信而提交的。

The diagnosis and Ebola-related death of a Liberian man on US soil in October, and the subsequent diagnosis of an Ebola infection of two nurses who treated him in Dallas, Texas, made Ebola the most closely followed news story in the US in October, 2014, with much media attention focused on claims of ?Ebola hysteria.? Because Ebola is rare, most Americans have learned about it exclusively from traditional (e.g., TV, radio) and social (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) media sources. Yet, media-based information varies in accuracy and tone regarding how the disease is spread, the numbers of cases and deaths, and the gruesome way its victims die. If media communications fail to address the informational and emotional needs of the populace, they may fail to help -- or even make matters worse -- by undermining the trust between citizens and authorities and increasing public anxiety and complacency. This research examines the efficacy of widespread Ebola-related media coverage in providing information that people need to understand Ebola-related threats. The research team assesses how this media coverage is linked to Ebola-related stress response, and how cognitive and emotional factors combine to shape risk assessments, behavioral responses, and mental health outcomes as this public health crisis unfolds. In ongoing research, the team has surveyed a nationally representative sample of individuals three times over the 18 months since the Boston Marathon Bombings (BMB). The sample includes a nationally representative sample of adults and representative subsamples of residents from metropolitan Boston and New York. This new research involves a follow-up survey on the Ebola threat with all available respondents immediately, including an examination of predictors of Ebola-related risk perceptions and stress response, controlling for pre-existing mental health status, functioning, prior trauma exposures, and media behavior. The research has three primary aims: * Estimate Ebola-related media exposure, Ebola risk perceptions, trust in the institutions managing (and communicating about) Ebola, and behavioral and emotional responses to perceived Ebola threat. * Investigate how type (e.g., television, Twitter, online news), amount (e.g., total hours), and nature (e.g., types of images) of Ebola-related media coverage are associated with risk perceptions, and behavioral and emotional responses (e.g., stress response, somatization). * Investigate whether prior exposure to individual (e.g., childhood exposure to violence) and collective (e.g., the BMB, 9/11) stress are associated with Ebola-related risk perceptions and behavioral and emotional responses to the Ebola virus threat. The significance of the research is in the examination of questions relevant to risk assessment and community response to a national crisis. The findings will (a) further our understanding of the role played by Ebola-related media coverage in risk perceptions and stress responses to the outbreak, (b) facilitate early identification of individuals at risk for subsequent difficulties following public health crises, (c) integrate the stress and coping literature with that on risk analysis and perception, and (d) help policymakers, service providers, media professionals, and educators design cost-effective, evidence-based risk communication and interventions that are sensitive to diverse needs.This project was submitted in response to NSF 15-006 Dear Colleague Letter on the Ebola Virus.___________________