Risk Communication Research Research Articles

Communicating Environmental Health Risks with Indigenous Populations: A Systematic Literature Review of Current Research and Recommendations for Future Studies

ABSTRACTIndigenous populations are recognized as a group who are potentially vulnerable to environmental health hazards due to their intimate relationship with and reliance on local environments for aspects of culture, health, and well-being. In many circumstances barriers to effective communication and health risk management are linked to cultural, economic, and geographic factors. A systematic literature review was conducted to consolidate peer-reviewed research on the communication of environmental health risks with Indigenous populations. The comprehensive literature review procedures included searching databases and key journals that represented various fields in communication, environmental health, and Indigenous studies. The review yielded a total of 4,469 potential articles and a total of 13 of these manuscripts met the inclusion criteria. The 13 articles were analyzed to identify lessons learned for effective risk communication. Factors that influence successful risk communication strategies with Indigenous populations on this topic include: (1) developing messages that are congruent with the populations’ cultural beliefs and understanding of the environment; (2) including Indigenous populations in message design and delivery; (3) using credible and trustworthy spokespeople in message delivery; (4) identifying and utilizing effective communication materials and channels; and (5) ensuring that messages are understandable to the target audience. Gaps in the literature include the lack of longitudinal studies that empirically measure changes in perception, awareness and behavior, as well as a general lack of theory-based research. Results from this review provide directions for future work to help guide the development of more effective health risk communication research and strategies with Indigenous populations.

Feeling the weight of calories: using haptic feedback as virtual exemplars to promote risk perception among young females on unhealthy snack choices

ABSTRACTVirtual simulations allow users to feel and manipulate objects as they would in the physical world. Guided by exemplification theory and risk communication research, a virtual exemplar was developed to allow users to feel the weight of the caloric density of unhealthy snacks (e.g., potato chips) to heighten risk perceptions on snack choices. A 3 (base-rate statistics, print exemplar, virtual exemplar) × 3 (Time 1, Time 2, Time 3) mixed design experiment (N = 152) compared the effect of three mediated modes of delivering health information at baseline, immediately after, and 1 week after treatments. Virtual exemplars led to greater spatial presence, issue involvement, and recommended health behavior than did base-rate statistics or print exemplars, but had no effect on perceived vividness. Heightened perceived susceptibility following virtual exemplars persisted for 1 week. Findings emphasized the importance of spatial presence elicited by an exemplar in heightening the perceived susceptibility of health risks both immediately after and 1 week after exposure. The role of spatial presence and vividness in the context of virtual exemplars that afford the illusion of firsthand experiences is discussed and compared against traditional exemplification research that has focused on the impact of secondhand experiences.

Zika reveals India's risk communication challenges and needs.

India's approach to disseminating information about the first three cases of the Zika virus was criticised nationally and internationally after the issue came to light in May 2017 through a World Health Organization news release. We analyse the incident from a risk communication perspective. This commentary recaps the events and synthesises key arguments put forth by the news media and public health stakeholders. We use Peter Sandman's risk = hazard + outrage framework - also adopted by India's risk communication planners - to analyse India's risk communication response and contextualise it against the mandate of the National Risk Communication Plan and Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme. We conclude with recommendations for India's risk communication policymakers, including the need to develop capacity for risk communication research and scholarship in the country.

Virtual Exemplars in Health Promotion Campaigns

Abstract. Virtual simulations allow individuals to concretely view the future negative health consequences of present dietary choices. Integrating exemplification theory with risk communication research, the effect of using virtual simulations to exemplify the health risks of soft drink consumption was assessed across 3 weeks. A three-group pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest design (N = 62) compared the effect of three channels of delivering health risk information – base-rate statistics, picture, and virtual simulation – embedded in a digital health promotion pamphlet. Three dimensions of risk perception (perceived likelihood, susceptibility, severity), involvement with the health issue, and soft drink consumption were measured across 3 weeks. Virtual exemplars were the most effective channel for increasing perceived likelihood, perceived susceptibility, involvement, and soft drink consumption over time. Exemplification did not affect perceived severity. The paper discusses the potential of virtual exemplars as a powerful tool in designing effective health messages.

Answering the Call for Scholarship: The Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research

Crisis events have the potential to create broad impacts across a variety of contexts and require multi-disciplinary approaches to understand the causes and consequences. Communication is instrumental to both the understanding and the management of risks and crises and needs to be systematically examined within these contexts. The Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research is designed to be an outlet for multi-disciplinary inquiry of communication phenomena within a wide range of crises and risks using multiple methods and perspectives.

Combining risk communication strategies to simultaneously convey the risks of four diseases associated with physical inactivity to socio-demographically diverse populations.

A single risk factor can increase the risk of developing multiple diseases, but most risk communication research has been conducted in the context of a single disease. We explored which combination of three recommended risk communication strategies is most effective in simultaneously conveying risk estimates of four diseases associated with physical inactivity: colon cancer, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease. Participants (N=1161, 50% no college experience, 50% racial/ethnic minority) were shown hypothetical risk estimates for each of the four diseases. All four diseases were placed at varying heights on 1 of 12 vertical bar charts (i.e., "risk ladders") to indicate their respective probabilities. The risk ladders varied in a 2 (risk reduction information: present/absent)×2 (numerical format: words/words and numbers)×3 (social comparison information: none/somewhat higher than average/much higher than average) full factorial design. Participants were randomly assigned to view one of the risk ladders and then completed a questionnaire assessing message comprehension, message acceptance, physical activity-related risk and efficacy beliefs, and physical activity intentions. Higher message acceptance was found among (1) people who received risk reduction information versus those who did not (p=.01), and (2) people who did not receive social comparison information versus those told that they were at higher than average risk (p=.03). Further, absolute cognitive perceived risk of developing "any of the diseases shown in the picture" was higher among people who did not receive social comparison information (p=.03). No other main effects and only very few interactions with demographic variables were found. Combining recommended risk communication strategies did not improve or impair key cognitive or affective precursors of health behavior change. It might not be necessary to provide people with extensive information when communicating risk estimates of multiple diseases.

Abstract IA20: Maximizing the impact of risk prediction models: Leveraging lessons learned from risk communication research

Abstract The most promising new medications are doomed to be ineffective if not adequately prescribed and taken as directed by patients, highlighting the grave importance of understanding the vicissitudes of human behavior. The same might be said of risk prediction tools. Irrespective of their quality and validity, the successful use and impact of such tools hinges firmly on a thorough understanding of human motivation, emotion, and cognition – the building blocks of human behavior and decision-making. In general, people desire to minimize loss, uncertainty, and ambiguity, and they hold defensive self-serving beliefs about their risk and risk factors, particularly when they compare themselves to other people. People also construe risk in terms of dimensions such as dread, absolute frequency, controllability, and intuition rather than objective likelihood, and fail to consider base rates when assessing risk (rendering their risk judgments non-Bayesian). They also endeavor to appear to themselves and others as rational actors, often leading to the paradoxical choice of non-dominant options, and are influenced – often beyond awareness – by incidental emotions and secondary motives such as managing existential anxiety when evaluating personal risk and making consequential decisions. People also vary greatly in how they use and comprehend numerical information and in the comfort with which they do so. Risk communication strategies have been developed to reduce the undesired consequences of these phenomena on risk perception and decision making, and in some cases can be implemented quite easily into the outward design of a risk prediction tool as well as the manner in which it is used in clinical practice. Citation Format: William MP Klein. Maximizing the impact of risk prediction models: Leveraging lessons learned from risk communication research. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Improving Cancer Risk Prediction for Prevention and Early Detection; Nov 16-19, 2016; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(5 Suppl):Abstract nr IA20.

Public Perceptions of Wildlife-Associated Disease: Risk Communication Matters

Wildlife professionals working at the interface where confl icts arise between people and wild animals have an exceptional responsibility in the long-term interest of sustaining society's support for wildlife and its conservation by resolving human-wildlife confl icts so that people continue to view wildlife as a valued resource. The challenge of understanding and responding to people's concerns about wildlife is particularly acute in situations involving wildlife-associated disease and may be addressed through One Health communication. Two important questions arise in this work: (1) how will people react to the message that human health and wildlife health are linked?; and (2) will wildlife-associated disease foster negative attitudes about wildlife as reservoirs, vectors, or carriers of disease harmful to humans? The answers to these questions will depend in part on whether wildlife professionals successfully manage wildlife disease and communicate the associated risks in a way that promotes societal advocacy for healthy wildlife rather than calls for eliminating wildlife because they are viewed as disease-carrying pests. This work requires great care in both formal and informal communication. We focus on risk perception, and we briefl y discuss guidance available for risk communication, including formation of key messages and the importance of word choices. We conclude that the risk perception and communication research available is helpful but inadequate, and that thoughtful practice with respect to message and word choice is needed.

Media Coverage of Pediatric Environmental Health Risks and its Effects on Mothers' Protective Behaviors.

This study explores the relationship between exposure to U.S. media coverage of chemical threats to pediatric environmental health and mothers' behaviors to protect their children. Prior content analytic work revealed that media coverage volume from September 2012 to February 2013 differed significantly by type of chemical (i.e., pesticides = high coverage volume; bisphenol A [BPA] = moderate; and arsenic = low). Survey data collected from new and expecting mothers in March 2013 (n = 822) revealed mothers incidentally encountered-or scanned-this information in the media in the prior six months, and after adjusting for a series of potential confounders, such scanning was positively associated with mothers' self-reported behaviors to reduce chemical exposures. To test the hypothesis that coverage volume moderates the relationship between scanning and behavior, content analysis and survey data were combined in mixed effects regression analyses. Results showed significant differences between the effects of media scanning at different levels of coverage volume, but in a direction not entirely consistent with the study's hypothesis. The relationship between scanning and behavior was strongest for BPA, suggesting that a characteristic of media coverage other than volume may drive maternal responses to environmental health threats. Implications of these findings for risk communication research and practice are discussed.

Navigating the future of tsunami risk communication: using dimensionality, interactivity and situatedness to interface with society

Two-dimensional paper maps are well-established tsunami risk communication tools in coastal communities. Advances in GIS, geovisualization and spatial interface technologies suggest new opportunities to deliver tsunami risk communication using 3D, interactive and situated risk visualization. This paper introduces a set of geovisual interface constructs—dimensionality–interactivity–situatedness (DIS)—and evaluates their presence, absence and distribution in 129 examples of existing academic and public visual tsunami risk communication. The resulting analyses reveal structural differences in the distributions of DIS found in each of academic and public risk communication literatures, and opportunities for interactive location-aware risk communication. The second half of this paper reports on three new tsunami risk visualization interfaces informed by and developed to demonstrate how we might explore new undeveloped risk communication territory revealed by the DIS cube analysis. We discuss the design, rationale and implications of: EvacMap; ARRO3D; and Tsunamulator. These risk visualization interfaces deliver location-aware, user-centred risk maps, as well as virtual risk maps and tsunami simulations that can be viewed while standing in situ in coastal environments. This work is a first step intended to help the risk communication community systematically engage an emerging territory of interactive and location-aware 3D visualizations. This work aims to facilitate and encourage progress towards developing a new strand of interactive, situated geovisual risk communication research, by establishing these guiding constructs, their relationship to existing works and how they may inform the design of future systems and usability research.

Communicating the risk of violent and offending behavior: review and introduction to this special issue.

How to communicate risk of recidivism in correctional and forensic contexts has been a subject of scholarly discussion for two decades. This emerging literature, however, is sparse compared with studies on the assessment of risk for violent and offending behavior. In this special issue of Behavioral Sciences and the Law, we have gathered together empirical and review papers exemplifying promising directions and methodologies. We begin with a review of the state of the field, and lessons that can be drawn from research into medical risk assessment and risk communication, finding that many of the same principles apply to the forensic context. How risks are framed, and how numerate assessors are, affects how risk information is understood and applied. We discuss the existing research bearing on these issues, as well as the conceptual, practical, empirical, and legal implications of communicating risk using numerical or categorical risk terms. Along with the seven articles in this volume, we suggest directions for future research on measuring and communicating change, understanding and managing the statistical literacy of those who use and communicate risk assessments, and developing a theoretical framework for forensic risk communication research. We hope this volume will help integrate and invigorate research into forensic risk communication.

Progress in risk communication since the 1989 NRC report: response to ‘Four questions for risk communication’ by Roger Kasperson

While lauding research progress in risk communication, Roger Kasperson despairs of change in risk communication practices. Advances are nevertheless evident on several fronts, including the development and application of pragmatic and evidence-driven approaches to risk communication design, implementation of new engagement strategies, and efforts to communicate uncertainty. Systematic reviews in risk communication research are starting to appear, and will likely help clarify the lessons to be learned. Progress in these areas suggests building on current momentum by continuing to encourage: (1) systematic reviews of research and trends in risk communication; (2) judgment and decision-making research to inform risk communication design; and (3) integrative risk communication research, across disciplines and application domains.

Modeling of Public Risk Perception and Risk Communication Research: In A Social-Cognitive Direction

This study begins with a review of commonly discussed dimensions of public risk perception that may influence public opinion toward risks. Factors that have been revealed by the literature to have substantial impact on risk perception, such as demographic background, trust, and media environment, are also discussed. Meanwhile, we evaluate two well-known research models in the realm of risk analysis: 1) the psychometric paradigm, and 2) the social amplification of risk framework (SARF). Based on a literature review, this study suggests that, besides the psychological and social approach, models of risk perception and risk communication research should shift to a more comprehensive one by considering the interrelations between laypeople and the environment. This study proposes a research model from the perspective of social cognitive theory (SCT) as a potential framework for future studies: 1) in the societal environment, individuals' risk perception and information seeking behavior, which is determined by risk perception will be influenced by trust in regulators and interpersonal trust; 2) in the media environment, individuals' risk perception and information seeking behavior will be influenced by individuals' perceived information characteristics. Knowledge about risk accumulated through information seeking will change risk perception in a longitudinal process.

The Privacy Paradox: A Facebook Case Study

The utility of social networks is contingent on information sharing, which constrains privacy. Engaging in online social networks is seen to indicate that the participants either do not care about privacy, do not understand the risks of information sharing, or find privacy controls to be unusable. Given the contextual nature of privacy all three models may exist in the population and in fact in a single person. We introduce the three distinct academic threads leading to each model, i.e. rational economics, risk behavior, and human computer interaction. Further, we conduct a survey based study to elicit the relative strengths of these explanations for information sharing on Facebook (n=384). Our findings indicate that while all three explanations are relevant, their relative strengths are different. The perceived risk of sharing information is the most important determinant of privacy behaviors; to a lesser extent usability of privacy controls is important. Finally, privacy preferences is the least important factor; thus, the explanation that people don’t care is weakest explanation of the privacy paradox (on Facebook).We argue that Facebook should invest in both more usable privacy controls and awareness of those controls. In general better controls and more information increased information sharing and lowered the perceptions of risk, thereby aligning expressed attitudes with observed behaviors and addressing the paradox. We note that privacy risks behaviors are determined by dread risk and familiarity on Facebook, as for risks offline. Thus, Facebook privacy efforts should leverage prior research in risk communication offline. Specifically, risk averse behaviors can be encouraged if risk communication focuses on severe, catastrophic, and rare consequences of information sharing.

Growing Pains: How Risk Perception and Risk Communication Research Can Help to Manage the Challenges of Global Population Growth

In 2011, the global human population reached 7 billion and medium variant projections indicate that it will exceed 9 billion before 2045. Theoretical and empirical perspectives suggest that this growth could lead to an increase in the likelihood of adverse events (e.g., food shortages, climate change, etc.) and/or the severity of adverse events (e.g., famines, natural disasters, etc.). Several scholars have posited that the size to which the global population grows and the extent to which this growth increases the likelihood of adverse outcomes will largely be shaped by individuals' decisions (in households, organizations, governments, etc.). In light of the strong relationship between perceived risk and decision behaviors, it is surprising that there remains a dearth of empirical research that specifically examines the perceived risks of population growth and how these perceptions might influence related decisions. In an attempt to motivate this important strand of research, this article examines the major risks that may be exacerbated by global population growth and draws upon empirical work concerning the perception and communication of risk to identify potential directions for future research. The article also considers how individuals might perceive both the risks and benefits of population growth and be helped to better understand and address the related issues. The answers to these questions could help humanity better manage the emerging consequences of its continuing success in increasing infant survival and adult longevity.

Risk communication and sustainability science: lessons from the field

Sustainability science aims to help societies across the globe address the increased environmental and health crises and risks that range from poverty to climate change to health pandemics. With the increased magnitude and frequency of these large-scale risks to different societies, scientists and institutions have increasingly recognized the need for improved communication and collaboration among researchers, governments, businesses, and communities. This article argues that risk communication has fundamentally important contributions to make to sustainability science’s mission to create use-inspired, “actionable science” that can lead to solutions. Risk communication research can advance the mission of sustainability science to engage a wide range of stakeholders. This kind of engagement is especially important in the context of addressing sustainability problems that are characterized by high levels of uncertainty and complexity. We introduce three core tenets of risk communication research that are fundamental to advancing sustainability science. Risk communication specifically offers an increased understanding of how system feedbacks, human perceptions, and levels of uncertainty influence the study and design of solutions within social ecological systems.

Unresolved issues in risk communication research: the case of the H1N1 pandemic (2009–2011)

The 2009 H1N1 pandemic had considerable impact on risk perceptions, vaccination campaigns, and global health governance. In this context, risk communication issues have been probably the most puzzling and the least understood in retrospect. This article reviews the current knowledge on the following issues: risk and pandemic perceptions; vaccination perceptions and practices; rumors and rumor propagation; and health risk communication. It also highlights the research gaps in these areas that remain to be further explored in the future.

The Influence of Skills, Message Frame, and Visual Aids on Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

ABSTRACTIn a large three week longitudinal study, we investigated the efficacy of framed messages for promoting condom use in sexually active young adults. We also investigated the influence of key risk literacy skills (i.e., numeracy and graph literacy) and visual aids (i.e., icon arrays) on the efficacy of framed messages. Finally, we investigated the underlying psychological mechanisms of behavioral change on the ability of icon arrays to improve message effectiveness. Results showed that framed messages including icon arrays increased adherence to self‐reported condom use by giving rise to enduring changes in attitudes and behavioral intentions, which influenced behavior. Icon arrays were found to be most beneficial among young adults with relatively low numeracy as long as they had high graph literacy. These findings build on the previous research in risk communication and extend psychological theories of health‐related decision making such as the theory of planned behavior. These findings also map the conditions under which well‐constructed visual aids can be among the most effective, transparent, and ethically desirable means of risk communication. Implications for risk communication and informed medical decision making are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

What are close calls? A proposed taxonomy to inform risk communication research

Technology designers and researchers view close calls as an actionable source of information that can be leveraged to increase safety. Organizational representatives responsible for safety examine close call trends to understand their impact on human cognition and to improve risk communication. The relatively few published theoretical investigations of close calls have lacked focus. Attempts to relate close calls to Signal Detection Theory have often neglected the human judgment of event feedback. Furthermore, close call effects can be considered from a variety of perspectives, illustrating the enormity of the problem space. An important first step is to develop a taxonomy and framework that reflects close call impacts, severity, and potential for risk communication. The current article distinguishes close calls from false alarms, specifies a proposed framework for their definition, and demonstrates differences in severity within task domains. The article concludes with a proposed research agenda.

Lung Cancer Efforts Need Stronger Emphasis on Reducing Radon Exposure

In their article, Lantz et al. construct a false dichotomy between tobacco cessation and indoor radon reduction efforts.1 It is better to adopt a comprehensive cancer prevention approach. Both tobacco and indoor radon cause lung cancer and both should be addressed separately and in combination. While the authors discuss the risk of indoor radon on smokers extensively, they almost completely ignore the lifetime lung cancer risk of indoor radon for people who have never smoked—about 7 out of 1000 at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) action level. The typical EPA target range for risk management is 1 out of 1 million to 1 out of 10 000. Radon risks are at least an order of magnitude higher. Fixing high radon levels protects all current and future residents in homes for which levels have been reduced (i.e., smokers, former smokers, and never smokers). The authors’ assertion that there is a lack of smoking messaging in radon outreach materials is incorrect. The EPA provides both smoking and radon messages to the public. However, risk communication research has shown that combining these two issues in one message must be done with care. Individuals have an optimistic bias about their own personal risks. Non-smokers often believe messages that mention smoking do not apply to them, and smokers often tune out warning messages that mention smoking. The authors recommend actions with which we strongly disagree, such as the use of different action levels for different smoking behaviors. However, in the range of the action levels they considered, the lifetime mortality risks are in excess of 1 out of 1000 for both smokers and non-smokers. This is far higher than risks from environmental carcinogens ordinarily targeted for action by public health policy in the United States. The authors further ignore the fact that homes are bought and sold frequently, with no regard for smoking behavior. In addition, focusing outreach toward smokers does not align with international policy consensus to target geographical areas with high radon. Controlling indoor radon is cost-effective. In 1992, EPA concluded that universal testing at EPA’s action level costs $700 000 per life saved (CPLS). However, the authors highlighted 1999 results by Ford et al.,2 which estimated CPLS at more than $3 million. We noted at least two reasons to believe the CPLS is considerably smaller than the Ford et al. calculations indicate. First, the recommended models in the most recent comprehensive National Academy of Sciences report on radon risks3 would have yielded CPLS estimates roughly half as large. Second, Ford et al. used a relatively high discount rate (4%), which can highly influence estimates of CPLS since the health effects tend to occur many years after exposure. Caution is advised when using cost-effectiveness studies from other countries. As detailed in the World Health Organization Handbook of Indoor Radon,4 cost-effectiveness can vary greatly by country.