COMMUNICATION STRATEGY FOR PRECAUTION DURING A PANDEMIC OUTBREAK

Influenza

“Influenza” is a common dreadful viral infection which has its prevalence in the history of world pandemics. The exact reason of origin of the virus is still a debatable issue, however, the magnitude and the severity of an influenza outbreak is a ruthless public health challenge. The widely remembered influenza outbreak in 1918 is a classic model of influenza epidemics affecting 20 to 40 percent of the world global population. As stated by (Brammer et al, 2002), the influenza virus capitulates its dormant form during the late winter having high mortality rate initially affecting the respiratory tract of the humans, ideally Throat, Lungs and Nose. In USA, the hospitalization rate during a influenza outbreak is over 1,00,000 individuals which kills over 30,000 individuals in an average year (Simonsen et al, 2000 and Thompson et al 2003).The dreadful aspect of this viral outbreak is that it is difficult to predict the nature and timing of its next potential outbreak leaving the researchers to depend upon the past genetic and historical epidemiological evidences in order to identify a possible threat(Layne et al , 2001 ; Taubenberger and Layne , 2001).The nature of its pandemic occurrence pre-dominantly has its existence every 10 to 50 years during several centuries alone targeting children under 15 yrs of age with highest rate of infection.(Beveridge, 1977, Cox and Subbarao ,2000;Wright and Webster, 2001).

Influenza Types, Sub-types and Strains:

INFLUENZA STRAINS	SUB-TYPES		SYMPTOMS	MORTALITY RATE	DEATH RATE
INFLUENZA TYPE ‘A’	-H1N1 -H2N2 -H3N2 -H5N1 -H7N7 -H1N2 -H9N2 -H7N2	‘A’ type of virus strain (H5N1) is also known as bird flu which is highly pathogenic and has the capability of causing more than one influenza pandemic due to its genomic mutation capability. Highly existing forms are transcribed in avian genomes.	-Fever -Cough -Cold -Muscle aches -Conjunctivitis -Pneumonia	Very High	60%
INFLUENZA TYPE ‘B’	- None	This type of strain is a sub- type of influenza virus which can cause epidemics but not Pandemics. It is a contagious respiratory infection having the capability to mutate and produce different strains.	-Headache -Muscle ache -Mild frequent -Fever -Common   Cold	Medium	25%
INFLUENZA TYPE ‘C’	- None	This type of strain is the mildest of all types of strains never connected to any form of epidemics and is just a type of mild respiratory infection.	-Common Cold	Very Low	2%

Source: http://www.medicinenet.com/influenza/article.htm

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY FOR PRECAUTION DURING A PANDEMIC OUTBREAK

Preparation of a pandemic plan is a pre-requisite to a nation’s self- defence mechanism in a course of a potential pandemic outbreak. Based on the principles of world health organization’s pandemic planning guidelines, several countries like New- Zealand and Australia have their planning programmes working with an objective to facilitate and co-ordinate effective national response to a pandemic alert. With the involvement of the District health boards, Public health units and other agencies, the preparedness level are subjected to WHO designed plans. Vaccinations and production of antibiotic vials are a key phenomenon in countries like France, UK, Netherlands, Romania, Italy and Germany. Other countries like Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden have negotiated future plans for vaccinations and health care facilities.

With respect to the research study, Influenza will be taken as a possible pandemic outbreak example wherein social marketing campaigns can be designed to establish communication and precautionary strategy against it. The discussions will consider influenza as a pandemic and a detailed overview of Influenza is given below.   

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY FOR PRECAUTION DURING A PANDEMIC OUTBREAK

The pandemic preparation campaigns in developing countries like Indonesia was under-developed (Butler, 2006) and in European union countries (Mounier - Jack and Coker, 2006) it was better developed. The lack of collaboration efforts in pandemic preparedness planning amongst the neighbouring countries resulted in inappropriate and inaccurate dissemination of information during infectious disease scare. As a result, the credibility in communication efforts is hampered and lack of trust in information delivery systems impedes risks communication efforts (Glick, 2007). Hence, there is an erosion in the communication efforts by the public health agencies due to inconsistencies and lack of trust in public health safety agencies often leading to irregularities in the message delivery systems in the time of a pandemic blast. This communication gap is a major drawback with information delivery systems which will result into an ineffective communication strategy during public health crisis (Blanchard, et al; 2005). 

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY FOR PRECAUTION DURING A PANDEMIC OUTBREAK

Therefore possible social marketing approaches present directly implies to the voluntary changes in the behavioural pattern. A wide acceptability with regards to persuasion and consumer orientation is vital to study the current behaviour pattern of the target audience. Thus, selecting and influencing target audience and making different market segmentation strategies would imply to a set target audience segment. Various marketing mix strategies in order to engage desired market segments for appropriate results would therefore reduce the global influence of the pandemic outbreak.

A pandemic outbreak situation

A pandemic outbreak is a form of a disease that is geographically widespread and affecting people over a wide geographical area which is therefore considered to be extensively epidemic. It relates to spreading of a disease that can affect many people in a same time. In other words, A Pandemic disease is a form of an infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region and can affect people throughout the globe.

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY FOR PRECAUTION DURING A PANDEMIC OUTBREAK

THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOUR:

The theory of planned behaviour is a framework that is designed to predict and explain human behaviour in a specific context. It deals with the behaviour of the people having incomplete voluntary control and thereby captures the motivational factors influencing a behavioural change in an individual. The intention to perform towards a given behaviour and the motivational factors that influence a behavioural change are the indications of the behavioural intentions that represent people’s actual control over a behavioural elicitation.

With the existing theories dealing with majority of social marketing concepts with earlier implications and discussions, social marketing concepts have been used widely in majority of the cases. Example: an invasion of influenza pandemic has a disproportional impact on developing countries, while developed countries would also be affected with low income groups facing the highest risk factor (Murray, et al.2006).

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY FOR PRECAUTION DURING A PANDEMIC OUTBREAK

For a successful behaviour change attitude, theory of reasoned action and planned behaviour are effective means of communication strategies (Schneider and cheslock, 2003). Moral convictions, goal setting prompts, triggers, incentives and role modelling demonstrations would increase the likely accessibility of creating a behaviour change (Bandura, 2001). Social diffusion theory, Theory of reasoned action and planned behaviour, social cognitive theory, Health brief model, Agenda setting, priming and framing are the appropriate means of conceptualizing the evaluation of the studies that measures the aggregate result of the campaign outcome. However, for a voluntary behaviour change, social marketing concepts are minimal when it comes in terms to communicable form of diseases. (Kotler, et, al, 2002). The communication of strategies to be used for prevention of the communicable disease at the time of a pandemic outbreak can also involve social marketing theory of planned behaviour.

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY FOR PRECAUTION DURING A PANDEMIC OUTBREAK

Table 1: Types of Media Campaigns (Coffman, 2002:6) Campaign Type/Goal	Individual Behaviour Change	Public Will
Objectives	• Influence beliefs and knowledge about a behaviour and its consequences • Affect attitudes in support of behaviour and persuade • Affect perceived social norms about the acceptability of a behaviour among one's peers • Affect intentions to perform the behaviour • Produce behaviour change (if accompanied by supportive program components)	• Increase visibility of an issue and its importance • Affect perceptions of social issues and who is seen as responsible • Increase knowledge about solutions based on who is seen as responsible • Affect criteria used to judge policies and policymakers • Help determine what is possible for service introduction and public funding • Engage and mobilize constituencies to action
Target Audience	Segments of the population whose behaviour needs to change	Segments of the general public to be mobilized and policymakers
Strategies	Social marketing	Media advocacy, community organizing, and mobilization
Media Vehicles	Public service/affairs programming: print, television, radio, electronic advertising	News media: print, television, radio, electronic advertising

Social marketing campaign goals and objectives: Coffman, 2002.