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Sources of Information During the 2014 West Virginia Water Crisis: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2016

Elena Savoia ,
Leesa Lin  and
Kasisomayajula Viswanath
Elena Savoia*
Affiliation:
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics/Emergency Preparedness Research, Evaluation and Practice (EPREP) Center, Division of Policy Translation and Leadership Development, Boston, Massachusetts
Leesa Lin
Affiliation:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), McGraw-Patterson Center for Population Sciences/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Division of Policy Translation and Leadership Development, Emergency Preparedness Research, Evaluation and Practice (EPREP) Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Kasisomayajula Viswanath
Affiliation:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), McGraw-Patterson Center for Population Sciences/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Boston, Massachusetts.
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Elena Savoia, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics/Emergency Preparedness Research, Evaluation and Practice (EPREP) Center, Division of Policy Translation and Leadership Development, 677 Huntington Avenue, Landmark Center, 3rd Floor East, Boston, MA 02115 (e-mail: esavoia@hsph.harvard.edu).
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Abstract

Objective

On January 9, 2014, a faulty storage tank leaked 10,000 gallons of an industrial coal-processing liquid into the Elk River in West Virginia, contaminating the drinking water of 9 counties collectively known as the Kanawha Valley. In the context of this event, we explored the relationship between social determinants and (1) the timeliness with which residents learned about the crisis, (2) the source of information, (3) opinions on the source of information, (4) information-seeking behaviors, and (5) knowledge acquired.

Methods

Between February 7 and 26, 2014, we conducted a survey of 690 adult residents of West Virginia. Descriptive statistics and multivariable statistical models were performed.

Results

Information about water contamination spread quickly, with 88% of respondents from the affected counties hearing about the incident on the same day it occurred. Most people received the information from local television news (73%); social media users had 120% increased odds of knowing about the recommended behaviors. People who had a favorable opinion of the source of information demonstrated better knowledge of recommended behaviors.

Conclusions

The use of local television news during a crisis is important for timely dissemination of information. Information exposure across segments of the population differed on the basis of the population’s background characteristics. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:196–206)

Keywords

risk communicationchemical spillcrisisknowledgeinformationemergency
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , April 2017 , pp. 196 - 206
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2016 

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