Abstract
<p>Societal resilience during health emergencies relies, in addition to healthcare capacity and infrastructure, on citizen wellbeing, social cohesion and collective behaviour. The latter dimensions are often under-addressed in preparedness planning. To address this, we used a Latent class analysis to identify psychosocial and behavioural preparedness profiles from the March 2024 Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness and Behaviour survey conducted in Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain (N=4,636). Three broad profiles emerged with relative consistency across countries: a Priority Support Group with low personal (mental health, resilience and social support) and societal (institutional trust and social cohesion) resources; an Individually Prepared Group with high personal resources; and a Collectively Prepared Group with high societal resources. Key determinants driving group memberships varied between countries, especially mental health, resilience and institutional trust. Young adults, women and people with lower education, living alone or with medical conditions were consistently more likely to belong to the Priority Support Group. We conclude that population variance in preparedness profiles was predominantly shaped by psychosocial resources rather than behaviours, highlighting the need for tailored interventions addressing personal and societal shortcomings by population profiles. Preparedness strategies should move beyond behavioural messaging and address psychosocial conditions that shape whether people can prepare.</p>