Public Risk Perception Research Articles

The Relationship Between Barriers and Drivers of COVID-19 Protective Behaviors in Germany and the UK.

Objectives: To explore and evaluate the impact of factors including public risk perceptions on COVID-19 protective behaviors across the UK and Germany. Methods: We used survey data collected from a representative sample for Germany and the UK (total N = 1,663) between April and May 2021. Using a Structural Equation Model, we evaluate the role of personal health risk perceptions, official message quality, source of news, age and political orientation on COVID-19 protective behaviors in the context of German and UK risk communication strategies. Results: Personal health risk perceptions had a significant positive influence on protective behaviors. Economic risk perceptions had a negative direct influence on protective behaviors, particularly in Germany, as well as a positive indirect influence. Official message quality, use of official news sources and age had positive impacts on risk perceptions and protective behaviors. Left-wing political orientation was linked to greater likelihood of undertaking protective behaviors. Conclusion: For future pandemics, more attention should be paid to evaluating and conceptualizing different varieties of risk perceptions, risk communication strategies, and demographic variables alongside their impacts on undertaking protective behaviors.

Changes in residents’ hygiene awareness and behaviors in public toilets before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hangzhou, China: a two-round cross-sectional study

BackgroundHygiene behaviors in public toilets are important to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases, especially during the pandemic. All through the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, governments in many countries published guidance on personal hygiene for the general population to prevent disease transmission. This study aimed to investigate improvements in residents’ hygiene awareness and behaviors in public toilets before and during the pandemic.MethodsWe recruited 316 residents between November and December 2018 before the pandemic, and 314 residents between December 2020 and January 2021 during the pandemic in the same study sites in Hangzhou, a well-developed city in China. Residents’ hygiene behaviors in public toilets, hygiene awareness, risk perception, and sociodemographic factors were collected. Bivariate analysis and multivariable logistic regressions were used to test the differences between the two rounds. We conducted an observational study to record the provision of hygiene amenities at toilets during the pandemic.ResultsAfter controlling for sociodemographic factors (gender, marital status, age, education level, and monthly household income), compared with respondents recruited before the pandemic, respondents recruited during the pandemic were more likely to perceive the risks of infection when using public toilets (aOR = 1.77, 95%CI [1.20, 2.60]), and were more likely to be aware of the risks of touching contaminated toilet facilities (aOR = 1.72, 95%CI [1.17, 2.54]) and the risks of not using soap to wash one’s hands after using the toilet (aOR = 1.93, 95%CI [1.38, 2.72]). They were more likely to always clean their toilet seat with alcohol (aOR = 1.88, 95%CI [1.01, 3.51]), wash hands with soap (aOR = 1.52, 95%CI [1.09, 2.10]) and dry their hands with a dryer (aOR = 1.78, 95%CI [1.16, 2.71]), but they were less likely to always wash their hands after using the toilets (aOR = 0.57, 95%CI [0.32, 1.00]). Among 70 public toilets observed, 9 provided alcohol for toilet seat disinfection, 52 provided soap, 33 provided paper towels, and 41 had working hand dryers.ConclusionsDespite the overall improvement, residents’ hygiene behaviors in public toilets and the supply of hygiene amenities were still suboptimal during the pandemic. Further hygiene education and an adequate supply of hygiene amenities in public toilets are needed to promote residents’ hygiene behaviors.

PUBLIC PERCEPTION AND ADAPTATION TOWARDS CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY IN MALAYSIA

This study examined the relationship between public risk perception, public awareness, public knowledge and public adaptation towards climate change policies in Malaysia, with attitude towards climate change as the mediator. This study adopted selfadministered online questionnaires to collect inputs from Malaysians across all states. A total of 200 usable data was analysed in this study. The SPSS was used for the descriptive statistics analysis and SmartPLS was used for the measurement model and structural model analysis. Based on the findings, the results show that public risk perception has a significant effect on public adaptation towards climate change. Besides, public attitude mediates the relationship between public risk perception and adaptation towards climate change policy. These results will be useful for the government and industries in understanding public perceptions and attitudes towards climate change policies initiated by the government. Thus, it provides insights for the government in formulating climate change policy.

Hierarchical Structure Model of Safety Risk Factors in New Coastal Towns: A Systematic Analysis Using the DEMATEL-ISM-SNA Method.

When a coastal town transforms from a rural area to an emerging city, it faces many safety risks. Some are new risks from urban construction, while some are traditional risks that belong to this coastal area. The joint efforts of these risks may lead to new hazards, harming public health, but this problem has not been noticed in previous studies. Therefore, this study constructs the Triangular Framework for Safety Risk in New Towns to identify the risks and proposes strategies to reduce the risks. In this study, multiple methods are integrated, including Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM), and Social Network Analysis (SNA). This study takes the Lin-gang Special Area in China as a case study to verify the framework’s effectiveness. Sixteen disaster-causing factors are identified, and the internal linkages among these factors are clarified. Results show that the hybrid method performs well in quantitatively analyzing the risk factors of new coastal towns. A typhoon, public risk perception, and population migration are essential influencing factors. Disaster prevention capability of high-rise buildings, disaster prevention capacity of port facilities, and transportation are the most direct influencing factors. Environmental degradation is the most conductive among all elements. This study contributes to the theoretical theory by proposing an effective framework to analyze the safety risks in new coastal towns. In addition, it provides practical references for governments to make emergency plans in the city.

Analysis of COVID-19 Risk Perception and Its Correlates among University Students in Ghana

Monitoring students’ risk perception forms part of emergency management during public health emergencies. Thus, public risk perception generally triggers attitudes, emotional responses, and prevention behaviors, which affect the evolution of emergencies and disease control strategies. However, research has paid less attention to the COVID-19 risk perception of students in Ghana. This study assessed the prevalence of COVID-19 risk perception and further identified its correlates among university students. In this study, 882 students from two public universities in Ghana were conveniently recruited. The data were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, and ordered logistic regression. The study revealed the prevalence of a high degree of COVID-19 risk perception among almost half (47.4%) of the sampled students. Results from ordered logistic regression analysis showed that age, sex, religion, use of professional and social media platforms, level (years) of study, and COVID-19 knowledge were significant correlates of COVID-19 risk perception. The dissemination of appropriate COVID-19 information and behavior-change communication to such relatively high-risk behavior sub-groups could help counter the debilitative effects of non-altruistic attitudes because of COVID-19 risk perception.

The Prediction of Public Risk Perception by Internal Characteristics and External Environment: Machine Learning on Big Data.

Presently, the public’s perception of risk in terms of topical social issues is mainly measured quantitively using a psychological scale, but this approach is not accurate enough for everyday data. In this paper, we explored the ways in which public risk perception can be more accurately predicted in the era of big data. We obtained internal characteristics and external environment predictor variables through a literature review, and then built our prediction model using the machine learning of a BP neural network via three steps: the calculation of the node number of the implication level, a performance test of the BP neural network, and the computation of the weight of every input node. Taking the public risk perception of the Sino–US trade friction and the COVID-19 pandemic in China as research cases, we found that, according to our tests, the node number of the implication level was 15 in terms of the Sino–US trade friction and 14 in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following this, machine learning was conducted, through which we found that the R2 of the BP neural network prediction model was 0.88651 and 0.87125, respectively, for the two cases, which accurately predicted the public’s risk perception of the data on a certain day, and simultaneously obtained the weight of every predictor variable in each case. In this paper, we provide comments and suggestions for building a model to predict the public’s perception of topical issues.

Assessment of Public Flood Risk Perception and Influencing Factors: An Example of Jiaozuo City, China

There are many studies showing that public flood risk perception may promote people’s motivation to reduce flood risk and enhance their coping behavior, thus providing useful insights for flood risk management. The purpose of this article is to estimate residents’ flood risk perception in Jiaozuo City and to identify the influencing factors. A questionnaire survey method was used to collect data and a composite index was constructed to measure public risk perception. Each respondent’s grade of flood risk perception was calculated using the relationship between the standard deviation (SD) and the mean value (MV) of flood risk perception index (RPI) scores. Moreover, the hypotheses concerning different groups were tested using an independent sample T-test and one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance), and the group differences in flood risk perception on each observed dependent variable were explored using post hoc tests. The flood risk perception of the total respondents was divided into three levels based on the SD and MV of RPI scores: low (68.4%), moderate (13.7%), and high (17.9%). Respondents with low education, low income, less flood experiences, and who have married, lived in rural areas or near rivers/reservoirs had a higher flood risk perception than others, and respondents who lived in flood storage areas had a lower risk perception. Moreover, the ability to mitigate floods and the trust in flood-control projects were negatively related to the flood risk perception.

Zoonotic diseases risk perceptions and protective behaviors of consumers associated with consumption of meat and milk in and around Bishoftu, Ethiopia

Consumption of raw or undercooked milk and meat is a major source of zoonoses. Information on the public risk perceptions and protective behaviors are essential for prevention and control of these diseases. However, such information is limited in Ethiopia. We assessed the risk perceptions and protective behaviors of the community toward zoonoses associated with consumption of raw meat and milk by employing the basic constructs of food safety health belief model. We collected data from 210 respondents (105 from each urban and peri-urban) using a face-to-face questionnaire interview. Majority of the respondents (96.2%) had knowledge about zoonoses. Despite their knowledge, 91% and 94.3% had raw meat and raw milk consumption habits, respectively. The odds of raw meat consumption was significantly higher in males (AOR = 3.90; CI = 1.28–11.86) and raw milk consumption was higher in females (AOR = 3.82; CI = 0.78–18.65). About 65% of respondents, obtained meat from backyard slaughtering. Self-owned and smallholder dairy farms are the major sources of milk for peri-urban and urban dwellers, respectively. While 46.7% of the respondents reported that community members are the primary sources of information, only 2.4% reported animal health professionals as their primary source of information. More than half of the respondents either moderately or strongly agreed that consumption of raw meat and raw milk can expose them to zoonoses. Urban dwellers had perceived more seriousness of consuming raw animal products. Peri-urban residents had significantly lower intention than urban ones to implement protective behaviors such as stopping consuming raw meat (P = 0.017) and milk (P = 0.043). We noted that lack of access to refrigerator and pasteurized milk were the perceived barriers for protection against zoonoses among the peri-urban dwellers. There was significant difference in perceived benefits of avoiding consumption of raw meat (P = 0.005) and milk (P = 0.001) between urban and peri-urban residents. Our study showed that irrespective of knowledge about zoonoses, consumptions of raw meat and raw milk remained common practices among the respondents. Public health education on the risk of consumption of raw milk and meat and the significance of protective behaviors using a one-health approach is critically needed to ensure meat and milk safety.

Future population transgress climatic risk boundaries of extreme temperature and precipitation

Anthropogenic climate change is influencing the frequencies of extreme weather events. Considering the adaptability to extreme climatic risks in the future, we focused on determining whether humans have been exposed to the risks before. We define the rim of two-dimensional histograms of population under 20-year extreme temperature and precipitation as a climatic risk boundary. More than 30% (16.3%) of world population in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and other regions will transgress the climatic risk boundary by the end of this century under RCP8.5 (RCP2.6) scenario. While many areas with large cities will remain within the global climatic risk boundary, they will transgress their regional climatic risk boundaries. This study shows that it is also necessary to consider the limits to adaptation for each appropriate area, considering the cultural, technological, and social transferability of adaptation. This study will help refine public perceptions of extreme climatic risks and lead to more efficient policy making.

Impact of disease characteristics and knowledge on public risk perception of zoonoses.

Zoonoses represent a global public health threat. Understanding lay perceptions of risk associated with these diseases can better inform proportionate policy interventions that mitigate their current and future impacts. While individual zoonoses (e.g. bovine spongiform encephalopathy) have received scientific and public attention, we know little about how multiple zoonotic diseases vary relative to each other in lay risk perceptions. To this end, we examined public perceptions of 11 zoonoses across 12 qualitative attributes of risk among the UK public (n = 727, volunteer sample), using an online survey. We found that attribute ratings were predominantly explained via two basic dimensions of risk related to public knowledge and dread. We also show that, despite participants reporting low familiarity with most of the diseases presented, zoonoses were perceived as essentially avoidable. These findings imply that infection is viewed as dependent upon actions under personal control which has significant implications for policy development.

Far from home: Infrastructure, access to essential services, and risk perceptions about hazard weather events

This study explores the role of access to essential facilities and emergency services during hazard weather events in shaping individuals' risk perceptions. We develop a framework in which residents’ views of required actions facing extreme weather are influenced by their level of access to essential facilities to obtain medical and emergency services. The effect of access is complemented by perceptions about the status of local infrastructure conditions as enabling access. Using a sample of Texas residents collected during April 2021, we demonstrate the role of restricted access and views of local infrastructure conditions as important predictors of increased concerns during natural disasters. The results demonstrate the effects of factors such as access and status of local infrastructure on the risk assessments of individuals in vulnerable communities who face increased risks from extreme weather. Accordingly, the findings advance our understanding of the unexplored relationship between access of essential facilities and risk perceptions, and could inform disaster managers and public officials regarding the importance of evaluating access as an element of public risk perceptions facing extreme weather events.

The Formation and Countermeasures of Deviation of Public Risk Perception Around the Three Gorges Project

The Formation and Countermeasures of Deviation of Public Risk Perception Around the Three Gorges Project

Using community influencer groups to address COVID-19 misinformation and vaccine hesitancy in Uganda: a protocol for a prospective quasi-experimental study

IntroductionCoronovirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) misinformation has been reported globally and locally. This has the potential to influence public risk perception and reduce the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine. This study...

Understanding Risk Communication Effectiveness From Public Interest, Mobility, and COVID-19 Cases: A Case Study of COVID-19 in Nigeria

Since the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020, various actions have been taken by governments and agencies globally to curtail its spread and devastating effects. Risk communication is an essential component of such actions. Examination of public interest, risk perception and new cases of COVID-19 is vital to understanding the effectiveness of risk communication strategies implemented. With data paucity plaguing policymaking in Nigeria, there is a need to examine new data sources to support the enhancement of risk communication. The study explored Google Trends (GT) and Google Mobility Reports (GMR) in monitoring public restlessness and risk perception, respectively, toward COVID-19 in Nigeria. This is geared toward understanding the effectiveness of the national risk communication strategy. COVID-19 case statistics, stringency index, mobility, and search indices for selected terms were collated (February 28 to June 30, 2020). Temporal dynamics were examined while correlation analysis was carried out to examine the association. Public attention peaked just around the commencement of the nationwide lockdown and declined considerably afterwards despite increasing new cases. Mobility toward most place categories showed a sharp decline at the beginning of the pandemic, except for residential areas. This trend also reversed soon after the lockdown. COVID-19 case statistics were found to be negatively correlated with the public interest. Public interest had a weak but both negative and positive association with the stringency index, while mobility exhibited a weak negative association with the case statistics (except residential area mobility). The results indicated that the risk communication efforts were inadequate in providing a prolonged health behavior change. The initial risk communication and lockdown created a positive outcome, however, the impact soon faded out. The evidence suggests that risk perception may have been poorly targeted by risk communication interventions. It is recommended that continuous monitoring of public interest and risk perception is implemented during an emergency and risk communication adjusted accordingly.

Drinking water consumption and association between actual and perceived risks of endocrine disrupting compounds

Drinking water contains emerging contaminants, i.e., endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). However, the extent to which it is publicly viewed as a potential risk that requires attention (public awareness, political obligation, and regulatory efforts) is substantially underrated. Thus, this study investigated drinking water consumption patterns among consumers of different life stages, evaluated household practices using tap water as daily drinking water, and examined the actual risk as well as consumers’ perception of tap water quality for drinking with the potential EDCs contamination. Collectively, the present study is of great concern for regional database profiling and supporting human health risk assessment in regulating contamination and exposure of EDCs. It also provides an empirical and theoretical contribution to current public risk perception of EDCs in tap water, and promoted the formulation of risk communication and governance strategies for the development of risk behaviors in adopting public participation in the drinking water supply system monitoring and management framework.

How the Public Perceives of Branchless Banking through BriLink Agents: Field Research Kaliputu Kudus Village

Improving banking services is useful for attracting customer interest and creating new features and products through quality technology. However, some Indonesians still do not know how to use sophisticated and efficient banking services, especially people who live far from the office. This study aims to solve public perceptions of the existence of branchless banking through aspects of trust, service quality, and facilities provided by BRILink. The method used is qualitative with a phenomenological approach. The data in this study were obtained through interviews and observations with BRILink owners and customers in the Kaliputu area. This study focuses on public perceptions of user convenience, usability, and risk on the BRILink. This study reveals that informants using BRILink have met the trust indicators, service quality, and facilities at BRILink agents. These three indicators give rise to public perceptions regarding the ease of use, the benefits of services, and the risks that exist in BRILink. Service quality is the clearest indicator in BRILink services. It is recommended that indicators regarding public perception of BRILink should be improved so that further research can be maximized.

Current State of Microplastic Pollution Research Data: Trends in Availability and Sources of Open Data

The rapid growth in microplastic pollution research is influencing funding priorities, environmental policy, and public perceptions of risks to water quality and environmental and human health. Ensuring that environmental microplastics research data are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) is essential to inform policy and mitigation strategies. We present a bibliographic analysis of data sharing practices in the environmental microplastics research community, highlighting the state of openness of microplastics data. A stratified (by year) random subset of 785 of 6,608 microplastics articles indexed in Web of Science indicates that, since 2006, less than a third (28.5%) contained a data sharing statement. These statements further show that most often, the data were provided in the articles’ supplementary material (38.8%) and only 13.8% via a data repository. Of the 279 microplastics datasets found in online data repositories, 20.4% presented only metadata with access to the data requiring additional approval. Although increasing, the rate of microplastic data sharing still lags behind that of publication of peer-reviewed articles on environmental microplastics. About a quarter of the repository data originated from North America (12.8%) and Europe (13.4%). Marine and estuarine environments are the most frequently sampled systems (26.2%); sediments (18.8%) and water (15.3%) are the predominant media. Of the available datasets accessible, 15.4% and 18.2% do not have adequate metadata to determine the sampling location and media type, respectively. We discuss five recommendations to strengthen data sharing practices in the environmental microplastic research community.

Risk Perceptions and Amplification Effects over Time: Evaluating Fukushima Longitudinal Surveys

Despite the vast body of literature addressing public risk perceptions of technological disasters such as nuclear accidents, longitudinal studies comparing pre- and post-disaster attitudes are scarce. This study examines (a) how perception factors such as concern, risk, political saliency, trust, and attitudes toward energy policies related to nuclear power changed over time and among different populations, and (b) if social amplification and ripple effects were present after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster in Japan. The article compares 2010 survey data collected before the nuclear accident with data collected in 2013 and 2016. The analysis shows a clear trend regarding concern over nuclear power. Levels of concern and political saliency increased in the aftermath of the nuclear disaster but declined in 2016. These findings indicate amplification effects between the pre-disaster survey in 2010 and the first follow-up survey in 2013. However, the 2016 data indicate the Fukushima accident only had a significant short-term impact on public risk perceptions. The data also indicate high levels of uncertainty regarding trust and future energy policies. The high levels of uncertainty present an opportunity for nuclear power supporters and opponents alike to shape Japan’s future energy policy through well-crafted communication and outreach programs.

The determinants affecting the intention of urban residents to prepare for flood risk in China

Abstract. In the context of global warming and China's disaster response patterns, it is critical to understand how to promote the effectiveness of household flood protection measures among the public. In this study, we developed a comprehensive theoretical framework based on protection motivation theory (PMT) to identify the main determinants that influence urban residents' intention to prepare for flood risk. In addition to the fundamental factors in PMT, this framework also considered the influence of individual coping attitudes and social context. We selected urban residents in flood-prone areas of Henan Province as the study population as well as collected 857 valid questionnaires through an online survey. Firstly, the results showed that both threat perception and coping appraisal of flood risk are effective in increasing residents' intention to prepare. Secondly, negative risk-coping attitudes reduced people's intention to prepare. If people do not perceive preparedness actions as absolutely necessary, they will postpone them or shift their focus to public flood protection measures. In addition, analysis of affective pathways revealed that negative emotion (worry) was primarily influenced by perceptions of flood consequences and was not significantly related to perceptions of likelihood. The analysis of trust mechanisms showed that higher levels of trust in public flood protection reduced people's perceptions of flood risk, thereby hindering their intention to prepare for flood risk. Finally, we found that the positive influence of social norms on preparedness intentions makes it appropriate to focus on the power of social mobilization. The findings will provide theoretical references for government departments to design further policy measures to improve integrated flood risk management in China.

Public anxiety through various stages of COVID-19 coping: Evidence from China.

As countries underwent the initiation, peak, post-peak, and early vaccination stages of COVID-19, the changing risk perception, coping behaviors and corresponding psychological stress experienced by the public over time was rarely reported. We conducted a national scale panel study using social-psychological data collected from 5,983 questionnaires to investigate the interactions between anxiety level, risk perception and coping behavior during different stages of COVID-19 in China. We found that sustained perceiving worries of being infected, first due to domestic and then global pandemic, contributed to the persistent high proportion of respondents with anxiety disorders which even gradually increased over time (56.1% during initiation to 60.4% during early vaccination). Gender was the strongest predictor of anxiety at all stages, with females having less confidence in COVID-19 control and always suffering from much higher anxiety levels than males even during the post peak stage. Excessive protective behavior and frequency of access to COVID-related news also contributed to public anxiety. Additionally, public risk perception was significantly associated with their willingness to vaccinate. The findings verify the feasibility of taking stage-specific and gender-based risk communication strategies to alleviate the pandemic-related public anxiety and promote vaccination by influencing public risk perception and guiding coping behaviors.