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Open access publications by faculty, postdocs, and graduate students in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice.
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Browsing Open Access Publications by Author "Farmer, Ashley K."
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Item Politicization of COVID-19 and Conspiratorial Beliefs Among Emergency & Public Health Officials(Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 2023-08-10) DeYoung, Sarah E.; Farmer, Ashley K.In this research, we identified how political beliefs impact emergency manager’s perception of COVID-19 severity and risk. Specifically, we gathered data from people with a broad range of roles in emergency management including healthcare, mitigation, response, fire, rescue, and other areas. We asked respondents their beliefs about the severity of COVID-19, their belief in health conspiracy theories, and the public health measures associated with COVID-19 response. Quantitative results showed political affiliation was a predictor for belief in health conspiracies, as well as beliefs about social distancing as a proper mitigation measure for the spread of COVID-19, and that age and years in emergency management were not significant predictors for beliefs in health conspiracies. Qualitative results included several main themes, including frustration about the politicization of COVID-19 response and mitigation efforts, challenges in PPE (personal protective equipment) procurement, tension between public health and emergency management, misinformation about COVID-19, and lack of leadership at the federal level. These findings fill a gap in the literature regarding how political beliefs shape risk, trust, decision-making, and collaboration within emergency management.