The structure of Canadians' health risk perceptions: Environmental, therapeutic and social health risks

Abstract

Numerous studies have examined health risk perception through public ratings of health hazards, comparing them across lists, across time or across subpopulations. Yet, few have unveiled people's mental organization and representation of the factors affecting health risk. In order to better understand how the construct of health risk is conceptualized by the public, a principal components analysis was conducted on data from a previous national survey in which Canadians rated a series of hazards with respect to perceived level of health risk. Canadians conveyed their concerns as falling into three broad components: Environmental (e.g., nuclear waste, PCBs or Dioxins, etc.), Therapeutic (e.g., contact lenses, medical X-rays, etc.), and Social health risks (e.g., motor vehicle accidents, street crime, etc.). Generally, hazards perceived as posing the most health risk were those belonging to Social health risks. Perceptions of Environmental, Therapeutic and Social health risks were higher among women, respondents with lower education or income, and among residents of Québec. Results are discussed in relation to the population health approach (Evans et al. 1994), in which the physical environment, biology, lifestyle, social environment and health care represent major determinants of the health of populations and population subgroups.