Building New Imaginaries in Crisis Management: Psychology to the Rescue of Health Policies
(2026) ICAP — Location: Firenze (21.July.2026)
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S.Roussel. invited Syposium Div.8. Building New imaginaries in Health Crisis Management.pdf
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- (en) Introduction In a growing context of poly-crisis, the way previous crises have been dealt with can provide important insight to be better prepared for similar episodes. Drawing on the experience with the SARS-CoV-2 crisis in the Brussels-Capital Region, the prospective participatory research project PANDORIX aimed to produce crisis exit scenarios for future crisis focusing on protective health behaviours. Methodology An exploratory mixed-method approach was used. First, semi-structured interviews were held with citizens, organisations, and experts to explore their representations of the management of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as their representations of potential future crises management. Next, a quantitative questionnaire study with cluster analysis was performed to investigate citizens' preferences for the crisis management strategies derived from the qualitative study. Results While most citizens agreed that humans were responsible for the factors causing pandemics, opinions differed regarding crisis governance, particularly their desired level of participation in health policies. By exploring these representations, the study highlighted crisis management preferences associated with behavioural intentions. Five contrasted scenarios were developed and were communicated to policymakers and to citizens through policy briefs, a white paper and a co-authored article with citizens. In addition to this contribution, citizens were involved at various key moments of the study, such as the validation of scenarios and the improvement of the questionnaire. Participants emphasised that their involvement in a PANDORIX supportive environment had enhanced their resilience and restored their confidence. Conclusions PANDORIX underscores the complexity of managing a health crisis and illustrates the fact that there is no single universal solution to deal with such crises, even in a limited territory. Addressing a crisis required an open dialogue considering different scenarios, setting a timeframe that allows for trust building. The study also advocates the implementation of research that reflects the values it promotes.
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Roussel, S., & Van den Broucke, S. (2026, July 23). Building New Imaginaries in Crisis Management: Psychology to the Rescue of Health Policies. ICAP, Firenze. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/279378