The Emergence of Risk Communication Networks and the Development of Citizen Health-Related Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social Selection and Contagion Processes

Abstract

Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, a variety of public health strategies have been implemented by governments worldwide. However, the fact that strict government mandates focus on physical distancing does not mean that social connectedness for voluntary risk communication among citizens should be sacrificed. Furthermore, we lack an understanding of citizens’ behaviors regarding the voluntary adoption of public health measures and the control of mental wellbeing in the age of physical distancing. Key variables in the response to the global pandemic are the emergence of risk deliberation networks, voluntary compliance with government guidelines, and the restoration of citizens’ subjective health. However, little is known about how citizens’ health-related behaviors coevolve with social connections for sharing information and discussing urgent pandemic issues. The findings show that selection and social influence mechanisms coexist by affecting each citizen’s health-related behaviors and community-led risk discourses in the face of the urgent health crisis.

Sources of COVID-19-Related Information in People with Various Levels of Risk Perception and Preventive Behaviors in Taiwan: A Latent Profile Analysis

“…Research revealed that risk communication has direct and indirect positive effects on preventive behaviors; furthermore, risk perception mediates the relationship between risk communication and preventive behaviors [ 50 ]. However, little is known about how people’s health-related behaviors coevolve with social connections for sharing information and discussing urgent pandemic issues [ 51 ]. The role of risk communication in various classes of risk perception and protective behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic warrants further study.…”

The Asia Pacific Disaster Mental Health Network: Setting a Mental Health Agenda for the Region

“…Listening to and incorporating diverse knowledges and multiple perspectives are essential to ensure that mental health services and psychosocial initiatives designed for any community are accessible, acceptable, culturally secure and developmentally appropriate [ 28 ] and that intervention models, disaster risk reduction strategies and mental health policy are designed and delivered in ways that are meaningful and relevant [ 29 ]. Furthermore, emerging evidence suggests that mutual reinforcement of public health messages and actions among community members has positive implications for health-related behaviors and compliance with public health directives during pandemics [ 30 ]. Restoring connections to the natural environment will have additional mental health benefits [ 31 ].…”

Evolution of Collaborative Governance in the 2015, 2016, and 2018 Myanmar Flood Disaster Responses: A Longitudinal Approach to a Network Analysis

“…Methodologically, the Simulation Investigation for Empirical Network Analysis (SIENA) technique (Snijders et al 2010;Ripley et al 2013) was applied to analyze the longitudinal changes and dynamics of collaborative ties in disaster response networks based on the three Myanmar flood disaster cases. The SIENA approach is appropriate for modeling longitudinal changes in networks or network dynamics in terms of the individual actors' decisions to change their own tie formations (Lim and Nakazato 2020;Nakazato and Lim 2020). In this model, the network dynamics are determined by the individual actors' choices to maximize their utility by altering the status of collaborative ties with the other actors in a network-that is, creating new links, perpetuating current links, or abolishing former links (Nakazato and Lim 2016).…”