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

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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.___________________