Survey on the likely behavioural changes of the general public in four european countries during the 2009/2010 pandemic

In order to assess the likely impact of public health interventions, it is important to predict the acceptance of control measures, as well as the behavioural changes that may occur among the general public in response to epidemics, in particular lethal ones. The emergence of 2009 pandemic allowed us to assess the general public’s behaviour during the pandemic, via two surveys: one at the beginning and one after the first wave of the 2009 pandemic, in four European countries.Results showed some differences between participating countries in previous behaviours relating to seasonal flu and in beliefs and knowledge about 2009 pandemic influenza. No substantial differences were detected among the four countries in the first survey with respect to the intended behaviours in anticipation of the spread of the pandemic virus. However, results from the second survey showed differences within and among the four participating countries. The two surveys were useful in showing differences between behavioural intentions and actual actions related to the 2009 pandemic influenza. To our knowledge this is the first study investigating the actual behaviour of the population in four EU countries and provides crucial descriptions of pandemic impact on social-network dynamics parameters which can be included in mathematical models.