An Analysis of Disaster Preparedness and Household Compliance in Hawai‘i: A Socio-cognitive Approach

Abstract

Our paper delves into households’ disaster preparedness in Hawai‘i. The primary purpose of our case study is to inform State authorities and emergency management agencies about the extent of disaster preparedness and households’ compliance with the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency's (HIEMA) recommendation to stockpile 14 days of essential supplies. Through an extensive review of the literature and within the context of adaptive systems theory and social cognition theory, we examined the influence of several socio-cognitive factors on the extent of actual preparedness and households’ compliance. We employed proportional opt-in panels and conducted phone interviews, yielding a sample of 1,006 households across the state. Our study involved four analytical stages: the first two assessed the current status of households’ compliance across the State and predicted the likelihood of households’ adherence to HIEMA's recommendation to stockpile essential supplies. The third and fourth stages were designed to empirically explore the association between perceived and actual preparedness and to identify socio-cognitive factors that significantly predict the extent of household preparedness for food, water, and medical supplies. Our findings indicated an overwhelmingly low rate of household compliance with the State's recommended stockpiling in Hawai‘i. We detected several significant socio-cognitive factors that predict the extent of households’ stockpiling of essential supplies and the likelihood of household compliance. Finally, our findings reaffirmed the existence of a moderate relationship between perceptions and preparedness actions. Overall, informed by an extensive conceptual and analytical framework, we suggest that targeted communication campaigns emphasizing region-specific emergency preparedness recommendations, educational and training programs, and community-based practices, as well as introducing financial incentives for vulnerable households, would subsequently increase households’ overall compliance rate in Hawai‘i.