Bridging the Gap Between Knowing and Doing: A Behavioural Model for Designing Disaster Communication Interventions in the Caribbean

This study sought to explain and predict determinants of hurricane preparedness (HP) across five Caribbean countries. An online 49-item survey was administered between May and June 2025 across Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, Dominica, and St. Lucia to 632 adults aged 18–84. The study expands the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) by integrating additional cognitive and sociocultural constructs salient to the Caribbean context. 

Exploratory factor analysis indicates that the Caribbean Hurricane Preparedness Index (CHPI) comprises 14 hurricane preparedness (HP) actions, clustered into three behavioural domains: Basic Survival, Knowledge & Family Planning, and Financial Risk Mitigation. These results reveal that HP is a comprehensive set of actions requiring varying degrees of intentionality, lead time, and resources.

The hierarchical regression analysis reveals that HP intention, descriptive norms, risk knowledge, and perceived behavioural control were significant positive predictors, while renting, part-time employment, and lower middle income were significant negative predictors. Incorporating risk knowledge improved the model's predictive power, while inclusion of sociocultural factors did not significantly improve model fit. 

This research confirms the utility of the TPB for disaster preparedness communication in the Caribbean. What makes this research valuable is its grounding of Western epistemologies in the sociocultural realities of Caribbean life. It broadens what counts as evidence in disaster risk communication by recognising lived experience and culturally specific beliefs as valid and essential to understanding preparedness.

The resulting risk communication model, grounded in SBCC theory, helps disaster management agencies develop targeted hurricane preparedness interventions and address structural barriers to preparedness.