Melissa L Finucane

Biographic Data

ID246094
NAMEMelissa L Finucane
GIVEN NAMESMelissa L
FAMILY NAMEFinucane
SIGNATUREFINUCANE M L
AFFILIATIONSRAND Corporation
ORCID0000-0002-1137-0408
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS33
TOTAL CITATIONS74
WORKS AS AUTHOR32
WORKS AS EDITOR1
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR1996
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2025
H-INDEX5

  • Covid-19 disruption to routine behaviours and effects on mental health

    Melissa L Finucane, Samer Atshan et al.ARTICLEHealth Risk & Society2025

    The SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has had enormous psychological and economic impacts around the globe. Early responses to the pandemic, including different forms of quarantine and social/physical distancing led to new workforce, educational, and mobility patterns. Such changes placed many people at greater risk of poor mental health. Maintenance of behavioural routines may buffer the impacts of stress on mental health. However, relationships be…

  • An Initial Methodology for Evaluating Social Equity Performance in Disaster Mitigation Grants

    Andrew M Parker, Jessica Welburn Paige et al.BOOKInitial Methodology for…2023

    Some U.S. communities, such as low-income or minority communities, are disproportionately affected by escalating natural disasters. The authors explore initial steps toward a methodology that can be used by the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program to both communicate the pathway to building community resilience in an equitable way and track the program's progress toward participation and success in the BRIC progr…

  • The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Mitigation Grant Program

    David G Groves, Debra Knopman et al.BOOKBuilding Resilient Infrastructure…2022

    Based on the premise that investing in hazard risk mitigation will reduce spending on recovery and response, the federal Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program recognizes that equity issues are important in helping communities' mitigation efforts. Researchers identified ways to address these issues while enhancing the accuracy of natural hazard assessment in future BRIC grant decisionmaking, as described in this report.

  • Do social isolation and neighborhood walkability influence relationships between Covid-19 experiences and wellbeing in predominantly Black urban areas

    Open AccessMelissa L Finucane, Robin Beckman et al.ARTICLELandscape and Urban Planning2022

  • A Scoping Literature Review on Indicators and Metrics for Assessing Racial Equity in Disaster Preparation, Response, and Recovery

    Melissa L Finucane, Linnea Warren May et al.BOOK2021

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency have committed to reduce social inequities but lack frameworks, indicators, and metrics for tracking progress. In this report, researchers describe the results of a literature review, the key themes related to conceptual frameworks, and indicators and metrics. They also identify knowledge gaps and provide recommendations for assessing racial equity in these programs

  • Framework for a Community Health Observing System for the Gulf of Mexico Region

    Open AccessPaul A Sandifer, Paul Sandifer et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2020

    The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) region is prone to disasters, including recurrent oil spills, hurricanes, floods, industrial accidents, harmful algal blooms, and the current COVID-19 pandemic. The GoM and other regions of the U.S. lack sufficient baseline health information to identify, attribute, mitigate, and facilitate prevention of major health effects of disasters. Developing capacity to assess adverse human health consequences of future disasters …

  • Emerging infectious disease, the household built environment characteristics, and urban planning

    Open AccessJames H Spencer, Melissa L Finucane et al.ARTICLELandscape and Urban Planning2020

  • Building Community Resilience to Large Oil Spills

    Melissa L Finucane, Melissa Finucane et al.BOOK2020

    The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was the largest in U.S. history, releasing an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. In this report, the authors explore how communities, government officials, nongovernmental organizations, businesses, and scientists can build community resilience to large oil spills

  • Short-Term Solutions to a Long-Term Challenge

    Open AccessMelissa L Finucane, Joie Acosta et al.ARTICLEInternational Journal of…2020

    In the immediate aftermath of disaster, governments usually act quickly to reduce risk and to recover their communities' socio-economic functioning. Policy makers in these situations need-but may not have the capacity or time for-substantial analysis and public debate about how to balance short- and long-term societal needs. Inadequate attention to this challenge may result in a deepening of the inequities that increase vulnerability to disaster …

  • Oil Spill Disruption and Problem Drinking

    Open AccessLeah Drakeford, Vanessa Parks et al.ARTICLEPopulation Research and Policy…2020Cited by: 3References: 103

  • Fishing Households, Social Support, and Depression after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    Open AccessVanessa Parks, Tim Slack et al.ARTICLERural Sociology2020Cited by: 12References: 63

    This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on mental health in the aftermath of disasters by examining depressive symptoms among residents of the U.S. Gulf Coast region 6 years after the onset of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DHOS). Using data from the Survey of Trauma, Resilience, and Opportunity in Neighborhoods in the Gulf (STRONG), we test how social support and ties to the fishing industry are related to the likelihood of a p…

  • Advancing community resilience research and practice

    Melissa L Finucane, Michael J Blum et al.ARTICLEJournal of Risk Research2019References: 14

    Research and practice aimed at enhancing community resilience to disasters such as hurricanes have focused primarily on the survival of individuals and the development of social capital and networks. Less consideration has been given to the dynamics of social-ecological conditions that can govern post-disaster outcomes. This article provides a rationale for moving research and practice towards an adaptive systems framework, drawing on the cascadi…

  • Perceived Risk of Avian Influenza and Urbanization in Northern Vietnam

    Open AccessMelissa L Finucane, Tuyen Nghiem et al.ARTICLEEcoHealth2017

  • Using social network analysis to assess communications and develop networking tools among climate change professionals across the Pacific Islands region

    Open AccessLaura Kate Corlew, V W Keener et al.ARTICLEPsychosocial Intervention2015

    The climate science community of professionals in Hawai'i and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands is a vast interdisciplinary and international group, with the potential for spatial and sectoral barriers to communication and collaboration. This study sought to (1) assess the structural nature and expanse of climate-based communication between professionals across sectors in the Pacific Islands region; (2) identify key regional hubs and isolated g…

  • Understanding the climate-sensitive decisions and information needs of island communities

    Melissa L Finucane, V W KeenerARTICLEJournal of the Indian Ocean Region2015References: 1

    Climate variability and change present significant challenges for island communities in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. Understanding how climate science can be useful for island communities requires knowledge of decision-makers, their climate-sensitive decisions, and the context in which the decisions are being made. In this paper we report on an interdisciplinary research and outreach effort called the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Ass…

  • An Exploration of How Perceptions of the Risk of Avian Influenza in Poultry Relate to Urbanization in Vietnam

    Open AccessMelissa L Finucane, Tuyen Nghiem et al.ARTICLEEcoHealth2014

  • Climate Change and Pacific Islands: Indicators and Impacts

    Victoria W Keener, John J Marra et al.EDITORBOOKClimate Change and Pacific…2013

  • Understanding the Climate-Sensitive Decisions and Information Needs of Freshwater Resource Managers in Hawaii

    Melissa L Finucane, Rachel Miller et al.ARTICLEWeather, Climate, and Society2013

    Understanding how climate science can be useful in decisions about the management of freshwater resources requires knowledge of decision makers, their climate-sensitive decisions, and the context in which the decisions are being made. A mixed-methods study found that people managing freshwater resources in Hawaii are highly educated and experienced in diverse professions, they perceive climate change as posing a worrisome risk, and they would lik…

  • Climate change and Pacific islands

    V W Keener, John J Marra et al.BOOKClimate Change and Pacific…2012

    Developed to inform the 2013 National Climate Assessment, this report compiles the findings of more than 100 scientists and other experts on the state of knowledge about climate change and its impacts on the Hawaiian archipelago and the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands. Case studies and highlights also examine the adaptive capacity of island communities in the region and the issues of freshwater availability and quality; endangered species; regional…

  • Emotion, affect, and risk communication with older adults

    Melissa L FinucaneARTICLEJournal of Risk Research2008Cited by: 5References: 9

    Recent research suggests that emotion, affect, and cognition play important roles in risk perception and that their roles in judgment and decision-making processes may change over the lifespan. This paper discusses how emotion and affect might help or hinder risk communication with older adults. Currently, there are few guidelines for developing effective risk messages for the world's aging population, despite the array of complex risk decisions …

  • The affect heuristic

    Open AccessPaul Slovic, Melissa L Finucane et al.ARTICLEEuropean Journal of Operational…2007

  • Affect, risk, and decision making.

    Paul Slovic, Ellen Peters et al.ARTICLEHealth Psychology2005

    Risk is perceived and acted on in 2 fundamental ways. Risk as feelings refers to individuals' fast, instinctive, and intuitive reactions to danger. Risk as analysis brings logic, reason, and scientific deliberation to bear on risk management. Reliance on risk as feelings is described with "the affect heuristic." The authors trace the development of this heuristic across a variety of research paths. The authors also discuss some of the important p…

  • Risk as Value

    Melissa L Finucane, Joan L Holup et al.ARTICLEJournal of Risk Research2005Cited by: 12References: 18

    Studies of public perceptions of hazardous activities and technologies include a wide range of approaches. One approach—“risk‐as‐analysis”—emphasizes the human capacity for analytic deliberation. A second approach—“risk‐as‐feelings”—emphasizes the tendency for people to rely on affective reactions. In this paper we expand and link these approaches by adopting a “risk‐as‐value” model, emphasizing that responses to risk result from a combination of…

  • Psychosocial and cultural factors affecting the perceived risk of genetically modified food

    Open AccessMelissa L Finucane, Joan L Holup et al.ARTICLESocial Science & Medicine2005Cited by: 30References: 48

  • Risk as Analysis and Risk as Feelings

    Open AccessPaul Slovic, Melissa L Finucane et al.ARTICLERisk Analysis2004

    Modern theories in cognitive psychology and neuroscience indicate that there are two fundamental ways in which human beings comprehend risk. The “analytic system” uses algorithms and normative rules, such as probability calculus, formal logic, and risk assessment. It is relatively slow, effortful, and requires conscious control. The “experiential system” is intuitive, fast, mostly automatic, and not very accessible to conscious awareness. The exp…