Understanding Risk Communication Research Articles

Public health risk communication through the lens of a quarantined community: Insights from a coronavirus hotspot in Germany.

Quarantine is one of the most effective interventions to contain an infectious disease outbreak, yet it is one of the most disruptive. We investigated the quarantine of an entire village to better understand risk communication requirements for groups. We conducted a cross-sectional, mixed-methods survey study on a single cohort of adult residents in Neustadt am Rennsteig, Germany, six weeks after the removal of a 14-day mandatory community quarantine. The survey response rate was 33% (289/883 residents). Survey participants reported a lack of information on the quarantine implementation process. What authorities communicated was not necessarily what residents desired to know. While inhabitants used social media and telephones to communicate with each other, the official information sources were regional radio, television, newspapers and official websites. Public health authorities did not employ social media communication to engage with their communities. Despite a lack of information, the majority of respondents stated that they had complied with the quarantine and they expressed little sympathy for those who violated the quarantine. After lifting the quarantine, many respondents continued to avoid places where they suspected a significant risk of infection, such as family and friends' homes, doctor's offices and grocery stores. The survey participants utilised existing social networks to disseminate vital information and stabilise its group identity and behaviour (quarantine compliance). The authorities communicated sparsely in a unidirectional, top-down manner, without engaging the community. Despite the lack of official information, the social coherency of the group contributed to considerate and compliant conduct, but participants expressed dissatisfaction with official leadership and asked for more attention. Public health risk communication must engage with communities more effectively. This necessitates a deeper comprehension of groups, their modes of communication and their social needs.

Understanding Active Communicators on the Food Safety Issue: Conspiratorial Thinking, Organizational Trust, and Communicative Actions of Publics in China

As misinformation is common in the digital media environment, it has become more important to understand risk communication in the context of communicative behaviors of publics that affect public opinion and policymaking. Focusing on food safety issues such as genetically modified food and food additives in China, this study aims to understand the communicative action of publics and the role of organizational trust in the conspiratorial thinking of publics and their perceptions of food safety issues. Using a national sample of 1,089 citizens living in China, this study examines situational theory of problem solving (STOPS) to understand when and how publics become active in communicative actions to take, select, and transmit information regarding food safety issues. In addition, this study tests the role of organizational trust in the food industry between conspiratorial thinking of publics and their situational perceptions, which are antecedent variables to increase communicative action of publics in problem solving. The results demonstrate that STOPS can be applied to the food safety issue to predict communicative actions of publics, and organizational trust plays a vital role in reducing individuals’ concerns about the food safety issue.

Understanding risk communication in practice: Insights from municipalities in Alberta, Canada

Risk communication is emerging as an important risk-reduction and resilience-building strategy to deal with future risks to communities. However, the linkages between municipalities’ risk communication approaches and existing development priorities remain underexplored. The paper examines ways in which risk communication is practised at the municipal level in the Canadian context, using five municipalities of varying sizes in the province of Alberta, Canada. We highlight that risk communication in Alberta is practised through four broad approaches: strategic actions, public engagement, localized planning, and media and marketing. Our findings suggest that risk communication efficacy is determined by the key factors of risk perception, risk framing by multiple stakeholders, and information deficits. We contend that community-engaged frameworks that recognize social memory, as well as conflicting narratives of risk coupled with attempts to improve risk awareness, can help make future risk communication policies more robust and effective.

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.

Risk communication in acute stroke patients – from qualitative data to a pilot randomised controlled trial

ObjectivesThe probability of recurring strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation is high. Within 1.8 years, 6.6 % of the patients suffered a new stroke. While effective secondary prevention options exist, low adherence challenges effective medical treatment.The aim of our study was to examine the risk understanding of acute stroke patients and to find the best way to communicate risk reduction. Materials and MethodsRisk communication had three formats: a text, a pictogram, and a cube diagram. All three were developed on the basis of the criteria of evidence-based patient information. Patients who were admitted to the stroke unit and diagnosed with acute stroke, assessed the information material. Data on secondary prevention using acetylsalicylic acid were taken as an example, with no reference to actual patient treatment. In a first step, we interviewed a focus group to check the feasibility of the questionnaire (qualitative study). In the second step, the information material was tested in a pilot randomized controlled trial. ResultsAcute stroke patients (qualitative study, n=13) understood the information and were interested in numerical risk communication. The visualized representations were superior in terms of understandability of the numbers communicated (pilot randomized controlled trial, n=60, 50 % correct answers for question 1, p value of 0.502, and 55 % correct answers for question 2, p value of 0.338).Stroke-related neurologic deficits, measured with the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) on admission, revealed a significant influence on the number of correct answers to stroke risk questions, whereas the type of stroke and education did not. ConclusionsAcute stroke patients were able to understand risk communication. Visualization helped them capture information on stroke risk.

Say it Loud and Clear: Understanding Risk Communication in Canadian Municipalities

Say it Loud and Clear: Understanding Risk Communication in Canadian Municipalities

How Do Perceptions of Risk Communicator Attributes Affect Emergency Response? An Examination of a Water Contamination Emergency in Boston, USA

AbstractA water main break that contaminated the Boston area's water distribution system prompted a four‐day “boil water” order. To understand risk communication during this incident, 600 randomly sampled residents were mailed questionnaires, yielding 110 valid responses. This article describes how perceptions of different social stakeholders influenced whether respondents complied with the Protective Action Recommendation—PAR (i.e., drank boiled water), took alternative protective actions (i.e., drank bottled water or/and self‐chlorinated water), or ignored the threat (i.e., continued to drink untreated tap water). Respondents perceived technical authorities (i.e., water utility, public health, and emergency management) to be higher on three social influence attributes (hazard expertize, trustworthiness, and protection responsibility) than public (i.e., news media, elected officials) and private (i.e., self/family, peers, and personal physicians) intermediate sources. Furthermore, respondents were most likely to comply with the PAR if they perceived authorities and public intermediates to be high on all three attributes and if they had larger households and lower income. Contrarily, they were more likely to take alternative actions if they were younger and had higher levels of income, risk perception, and emergency preparedness. These results underscore the need for technical authorities to develop credibility with their potential audiences before a crisis occurs.

Understanding Risk Communication and Willingness to Follow Emergency Recommendations Following Anthropogenic Disasters

Communities in close proximity to petrochemical and industrial pursuits are at particular risk of anthropogenic hazards. It is vital for these communities to have an effective and functioning warni...

Risk Perceptions during COVID-19 Pandemic: Applying Knowledge on Public Compliance to Protective Measures during SARS to Understand Risk Communication

The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 has caused significant environmental and economic loss across the globe. The government’s promotion of non-pharmaceutical treatment such as social distancing, hand washing, and mask-wearing can be equally important in disease control compared to the conventional use of pharmaceutical treatment. Risk perception is often used as an important mechanism to understand an individual's compliance with these protective measures. The present article examines the application of previous knowledge about public risk perception, decision making, and behavioral change to the current global pandemic and evaluates the most effective way of governmental messaging. The article analyzes empirical research conducted during COVID-19 across the globe where risk perception is found to be a strong determinant of people’s adoption of public health behavior. Demographic factors can significantly alter people’s understanding of risk due to the variation of individualistic view and prosociality of each nation. Cognitive biases can also affect people’s efficacy beliefs and confidence levels in government which can shape their risk perception to a great extent as well. Combining studies on both SARS and COVID-19, we are able to employ past knowledge to draw conclusions on risk communication and governmental promotion of protective measures during the current global pandemic.

Understanding risk communication for prevention and control of vector-borne diseases: A mixed-method study in Curaçao.

BackgroundRisk communication (RC) is an essential tool for the prevention and control of diseases as it impacts risk perception, increases awareness and might change behaviour. It is the interactive exchange of information about risks among experts and people. Effective RC can minimize the impact that diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika have on populations. This study aimed to understand RC regarding vector-borne diseases in its social context and from the viewpoint of the audience to strengthen RC strategies in Curaçao.MethodsIn 2015, a cross-sectional mixed-method study applying focus group discussions (n = 7), in-depth interviews (n = 20) and a structured survey questionnaire (n = 339) was done in Curaçao. The study was designed based on the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. In addition, the Social Amplification of Risk Framework and the theory of cultural schemas were applied to understand RC in the social context.ResultsTelevision, radio and newspapers were the most important channels of information regarding dengue and chikungunya. Moreover, individuals also reported receiving information via social media, the internet and family/friends. Interestingly, the use of internet to obtain information diminished with age, while females were more likely to use internet compared to men. These key findings were statistically significant. An important outcome was that the risk perception towards chikungunya at the beginning of the outbreak was attenuated. This might be due to the (perceived) lack of RC before the epidemic. This same risk perception was amplified later during the outbreak by the increased exposure to information. Lastly, we show how cultural schemas influence people’s perception regarding preventive measures and treatment of chikungunya and dengue.ConclusionsData obtained emphasise the importance of understanding the user of media platforms and sharing information in a timely fashion through a transparent process with the content that convinces people of the seriousness of the matter.

Understanding Risk Communication Gaps through E-Government Website and Twitter Hashtag Content Analyses: The Case of Indonesia’s Mt. Sinabung Eruption

AbstractDespite operational volcano surveillance using meteorological satellite, thermal remote sensing and infrared camera technologies, predicting a volcano’s hazardous activity and explosive eruption, with any accuracy, remains nearly impossible. Volcanic hazards and risk literature identifies risk communication as critical but insufficiently understood. This paper, therefore, investigates disaster risk communications during Indonesia’s Mt. Sinabung eruptions in February 2014, causing 16 deaths and continuous evacuations of 30,000 residents. We critically examined one-way government-to-citizens communications via e-government websites and Twitter and citizens’ multi-directional communications via #sinabung hashtag for sharing volcano risk perceptions about affected villagers. Our Twitter analysis of #sinabung found evidence for the absence of government engagement in risk perception communications and leadership in responding to the Indonesian public’s expressed concerns for the Mt. Sinabung disaster. For governments that would implement citizen-centric e-governance, Twitter can be used effectively as a multi-directional risk communication tool to quickly and effectively share risk perceptions and disaster information with the public.

Risk Communication after Disaster: Return Entry Following the 2008 Cedar River Flood

AbstractCommunicating risk to evacuated populations is challenging for emergency officials during the return-entry phase. Although decades of research focused on understanding relationships between risk communication and evacuation behavior, very little has been done to understand risk communication and return-entry behavior. This research examines risk communication during the return-entry phase following the 2008 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, flood. The results of this study indicate the following: (1) household reliance on information sources during the evacuation and return-entry phases is highly correlated; (2) as reliance on local authorities, local news media, and the Internet increases, the likelihood of returning after the official return date also increases; (3) evacuation destination characteristics are related to the likelihood of receiving the return-entry message; and (4) household demographic characteristics are related to the reliance on information sources during the return phase. This study aims t...

Risk communication in clinical trials: a cognitive experiment and a survey.

BackgroundA Royal Statistical Society Working Party recently recommended that "Greater use should be made of numerical, as opposed to verbal, descriptions of risk" in first-in-man clinical trials. This echoed the view of many clinicians and psychologists about risk communication. As the clinical trial industry expands rapidly across the globe, it is important to understand risk communication in Asian countries.MethodsWe conducted a cognitive experiment about participation in a hypothetical clinical trial of a pain relief medication and a survey in cancer and arthritis patients in Singapore. In part 1 of the experiment, the patients received information about the risk of side effects in one of three formats (frequency, percentage and verbal descriptor) and in one of two sequences (from least to most severe and from most to least severe), and were asked about their willingness to participate. In part 2, the patients received information about the risk in all three formats, in the same sequence, and were again asked about their willingness to participate. A survey of preference for risk presentation methods and usage of verbal descriptors immediately followed.ResultsWillingness to participate and the likelihood of changing one's decision were not affected by the risk presentation methods. Most patients indicated a preference for the frequency format, but patients with primary school or no formal education were indifferent. While the patients used the verbal descriptors "very common", "common" and "very rare" in ways similar to the European Commission's Guidelines, their usage of the descriptors "uncommon" and "rare" was substantially different from the EU's.ConclusionIn this sample of Asian cancer and arthritis patients, risk presentation format had no impact on willingness to participate in a clinical trial. However, there is a clear preference for the frequency format. The lay use of verbal descriptors was substantially different from the EU's.

Risk Communication in Genetic Counselling

This paper argues for and demonstrates a language-based treatment of probability. The study was motivated by an observation that there is ambiguity in the use of probabilistic terminology in risk communication in genetic counselling. In particular, it was found that terms such as ‘risk’ and ‘probability’ were founded upon different ontological constructs. Most philosophical approaches to probability do not adequately explain this phenomenon. In spite of much variation in theoretical views on probability, one common element is that probability is viewed as an ‘object’ about which knowledge can be obtained. In contrast, a discursive approach to probability offers a way to understand risk communication (and probabilistic discourse more generally) that involves a focus on the function of probability statements in language. In this paper Toulmin's view of probability is used as a foundation for a discursive analysis of probability. Such an analysis is illustrated in transcripts from genetic counselling sessions.

Understanding Public Response to Increased Risk from Natural Hazards: Application of the Hazards Risk Communication Framework

For the past four, decades researchers in the field of natural hazards have studied extensively how people “hear” warning messages of potential natural disasters and then, eventually, how they “respond” by way of adopting preparation and mitigation measures. Until the 1980s, a single framework did not exist for understanding risk communication as an integrated process. Much of the early research on risk communication was piecemeal and descriptive, and consisted of exploring the details of communicating risk within the events of a particular disaster. The proliferation of research on risk communication over several decades, though, has resulted in the evolution of a general model of hazards risk commnication. This model presupposes that the process of risk communication is one whereby individuals: (1) hear a warning message; (2) understand its content; (3) internalize or believe the salience of its message; (4) confirm one's interpretation with others; and (5) act or respond to its message. to save one's life and property. This paper applies the risk communication framework and its principles to a case study where probabilities were increased in 1990 of future earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay area. Following the scientific community's announcement, a low-key warning was issued to approximately two million residents through a large-scale information campaign. This study demonstrates that the risk communication model is an invaluable fool for helping us to understand the behavior of individuals who must learn of and act upon warning information that could save their lives and property. Further, researchers are urged to find ways to adapt this risk communication model to other types of natural and human-made hazards.

Public reliance on risk communication channels in the wake of a cryptosporidium outbreak.

In the spring of 1993, about 39% of Milwaukee-area residents suffered through a nationally publicized illness brought about by cryptosporidium, a parasite that had infested the metropolitan drinking water supply. Our study, based on a telephone survey of 610 local adult residents, indicates that worry about becoming ill in the future with cryptosporidiosis relates more strongly and consistently to public reliance on, and use of, media for cryptosporidium information than do a range of risk perception and experience variables. We propose that more studies should take an audience-centered approach to understanding risk communication.

Tolerance for Potential Environmental Health Risks: The Influence of Knowledge, Benefits, Control, Involvement, and Uncertainty

As organizations, especially companies, regulators, and environmentalists, attempt to communicate with key publics about risk conditions in the workplace and neighborhoods, serious research attention is being given to understanding risk communication, especially as mandated in the Superfund Amendment Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). Title 111, Section 313 of that act requires chemical companies to inform key publics about their chemical emissions. In this vein, we compare respondents who are more tolerant of environmental risk with those who are less tolerant based on each group's level of knowledge, perception of benefits, level of involvement, perceived control, and level of uncertainty concerning a potential risk source. Analysis showed a significant difference between less risk-tolerant and more risk-tolerant subjects concerning perception of benefits and level of involvement. As predicted from previous research, no significant difference was found between the two groups based on their knowledge ab...