Pictorial Representation of Threat Perception and Its Association with Emergency Preparedness

Objectives: Emergency preparedness is a key factor in public resilience when facing adversities. It is widely agreed that populations who are better prepared for crises and emergencies cope better and sustain fewer damages. Yet, promoting readiness continues to be challenging. In an effort to assess Israeli threat perception of emergencies, a novel visual tool measuring personally salient appraisals and attitudes (the Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self-Measure [PRISM]) was used. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 502 participants representing the adult Jewish population was carried out. An online version of the PRISM tool was used together with a set of validated questionnaires to assess household preparedness. Results: The results suggest that preparedness for emergencies (war or earthquake) is associated with the way subjects appraise preparedness in their lives, but is not associated to the appraisal of threat objects themselves. In other words, the results suggest that preparedness has little to do with threat perception. Conclusions: This study highlights the disparity between classic risk reduction strategies, which argue that awareness is key in promoting public preparedness, and the reality.