The Effects of Repetitive Information Communication through Multiple Channels on Prevention Behavior during the 2015 MERS Outbreak in South Korea

Although people nowadays engage in information communication repetitively through multiple channels during a public health crisis, the impacts of this communication on behavioral outcomes have not been fully examined. The present study empirically tests the effects of repetitive information communication through multiple channels (RICMC) on risk-prevention behavior. Additionally, the mediating roles of knowledge, perceived susceptibility, severity, response efficacy, and self-efficacy in the association between RICMC and risk-prevention behavior are examined. Analyses of online survey data (N = 1,036) collected during the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in South Korea revealed that RICMC was positively associated with MERS-prevention behavior. Furthermore, this association was mediated by perceived susceptibility, severity, and self-efficacy. Although response efficacy and knowledge were not significant mediators, RICMC was positively associated with all mediating variables. The implications, theoretical contributions, and limitations of this study are discussed.