Table 2.
SARS study variables
| Characteristics | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Total sample | 1201 | 100.0 |
| Independent variables | ||
| Socio-demographic factors | ||
| Gender | ||
| Male | 599 | 50.0 |
| Female | 602 | 50.0 |
| Age | ||
| 59 years old or younger | 1056 | 88.0 |
| 60 years old or older | 144 | 12.0 |
| Ethnicity | ||
| Indian | 82 | 7.0 |
| Malay | 172 | 14.0 |
| Chinese | 900 | 75.0 |
| Marital status | ||
| Single | 314 | 26.0 |
| Ever-married | 887 | 74.0 |
| Place of birth | ||
| Singapore | 947 | 78.9 |
| Other | 254 | 21.1 |
| Preferred language | ||
| Mandarin | 326 | 27.0 |
| Other | 875 | 73.0 |
| Social class | ||
| Educational level | ||
| Primary six or lower | 230 | 19.2 |
| Secondary one or higher | 971 | 80.8 |
| Personal monthly income | ||
| Below S$ 1000 | 495 | 41.2 |
| S$ 1000 or higher | 706 | 58.8 |
| Health behavior | ||
| Smokes | ||
| Yes | 171 | 14.2 |
| No | 1030 | 85.8 |
| Exercises regularly | ||
| No | 511 | 42.5 |
| Yes | 690 | 57.5 |
| Preventive measures taken at home over the 3 days preceding the interviewa | ||
| Five or less preventive measures taken | 832 | 69.3 |
| Six or more preventive measures taken | 369 | 30.7 |
| Attitudes on crisis management and SARS | ||
| “Preventive measures have adversely affected my personal choice and freedom in life” | ||
| Agree (1) | 536 | 44.6 |
| Disagree (0) | 665 | 55.4 |
| “People should be willing to make some personal sacrifices” | ||
| Agree | 1145 | 95.3 |
| Disagree | 56 | 4.7 |
| “People have mostly been socially responsible” | ||
| Agree | 1033 | 86.0 |
| Disagree | 168 | 14.0 |
| “Have had the chance to express my personal views and concerns to the authorities if I wanted to” | ||
| Agree | 930 | 77.4 |
| Disagree | 271 | 22.6 |
| “It is appropriate to reveal the names and identities of SARS patients to the public” | ||
| Agree | 474 | 39.5 |
| Disagree | 727 | 60.5 |
| “If you did not develop symptoms of SARS after having close contact with someone diagnosed with SARS, would you agree to be quarantined for 10 days”? | ||
| Agree | 1097 | 91.3 |
| Disagree | 104 | 8.7 |
| “If you did not develop symptoms of SARS after having non-close contact with someone diagnosed with SARS, would you agree to be quarantined for 10 days”? | ||
| Agree | 860 | 71.6 |
| Disagree | 341 | 28.4 |
| Perceived susceptibility: “How likely do you think it is for you to contract SARS”?b | ||
| Nil susceptibility | 211 | 17.6 |
| Some or high susceptibility | 990 | 82.4 |
| Perceived severity: “If you have contracted SARS, what is the likelihood of survival”?c | ||
| Low severity | 1052 | 87.6 |
| High severity | 149 | 12.4 |
| Perceived health status: “How would you rate your health in the past one week”? | ||
| Excellent/very good | 612 | 51.0 |
| Good/average/poor | 589 | 49.0 |
| Feels comfortable | ||
| No/just a little | 294 | 24.5 |
| Very/quite | 907 | 75.5 |
| Feels relaxed | ||
| No/just a little | 358 | 29.8 |
| Very/quite | 843 | 70.2 |
| Feels contented | ||
| No/just a little | 374 | 31.1 |
| Very/quite | 827 | 68.9 |
| Feels happy | ||
| No/just a little | 314 | 26.1 |
| Very/quite | 887 | 73.9 |
| Has negative feelings (frightened, nervous, anxious, indecisive, confused) | ||
| Negligible | 713 | 59.4 |
| Intense | 488 | 40.6 |
| Dependent variable | ||
| Appraisal of health authorities’ crisis managementd | ||
| Negative (below average) | 290 | 24.1 |
| Positive (above average) | 911 | 75.9 |
Eight preventive measures were considered as part of the respondents’ “activities during the past 3 days”: covering the mouth with paper tissue or handkerchief when sneezing or coughing; covering the mouth with bare hand when sneezing or coughing; washing hands after sneezing or coughing; using soap or liquid hand-wash when washing hands; wearing a mask over the mouth; using serving utensils (chopsticks or spoons) for shared food when joining others for meals; when touching objects that may possible carry the SARS virus (e.g., door handles, buttons in lifts), taking preventive measures (e.g., pressing lift buttons with tissue paper); washing hands as soon as possible after touching objects that may possibly carry the SARS virus (e.g., door handles, buttons in lifts).
The original response categories for perceived susceptibility (that is, the perceived likelihood of contracting SARS) were: “very likely”, “likely”, “not very likely”, “not likely at all” and “don’t know”. For the logistic regression analysis the latter group, 17.6% of respondents who had no idea on their susceptibility to SARS, were contrasted with all other respondents who did have an assessment of their likelihood of getting infected.
The original response categories for perceived severity (that is, the likelihood of survival) were “very likely”, “likely”, “not very likely” and “not likely at all”. For the logistic regression analysis, these responses were dichotomized into low perceived severity (survival “very likely/likely”) and high perceived severity (survival “not very likely”/“not likely at all”).
The respondents’ appraisal of the health authorities’ crisis management was ascertained by their assessment of the distribution of information in terms of accuracy, clearness, sufficiency, timeliness, and trustworthiness in a scale from very negative (score 1) to very positive (score 6). The scale had high reliability (α = 0.813) and the mean score was 4.83 (S.D. = 0.617).