Risk perception in consumer product use

Consumers' perceptions of chemical household products and the associated risks

Accidents with chemical household products are prevalent worldwide and often involve young children. Previous research has shown that consumers use both analytical factors (e.g., warning symbols) and potentially misleading heuristics to evaluate the riskiness. However, it remains unclear whether consumers intuitively think of the specific risks of these products when handling them. We conducted an online survey with Swiss consumers (N = 1109) aiming to investigate consumer's spontaneous and prompted risk perception of chemical household products. First, we asked them about their free associations to laundry detergent, descaler, mold remover and essential oils. While participants were aware of the risks when prompted about them, they did not name them intuitively, but mainly thought of the possible uses and attributes of the product. Next, we examined prerequisites to safe handling of chemical household products. This included applied knowledge about the products, but also factors like perceived barriers to safe use. Finally, we assessed the predictors of perceived severity of accidents in order to estimate the potential behavioral changes that these predictors might elicit. For interventions, particular attention should be accorded to personal risk awareness and the perception of potential barriers, which were significantly related to the perceived severity of accidents.

Safety Behaviors to Reduce Risk of Using Chemical Household Products: An Application of the Risk Perception Attitude Framework

Various chemical household products (CHPs) can make life more convenient; however, CHP users have higher rates of chemical exposure and are faced with the risk of accidents associated with using these products. Safe use of CHPs requires that individuals perform safety-related behaviors such as reading and following CHP risk information. As such, it may be worthwhile to apply the Risk Recognition Attitude (RPA) framework to classify groups of CHP users and investigate whether there is a difference in the safety behaviors between them. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to (a) examine social determinants of each group in the RPA framework, (b) identify different policies that would be effective for each group, and (c) provide evidence to inform the development of effective policies and risk communication strategies that encourage safety behaviors. The study included 1537 subjects and used an ANOVA with a post-hoc Tukey test to examine practices of the four groups in terms of two safety behaviors. A multinomial logistic regression was performed to identify factors that influence the classification of the group types. The results confirmed that safety behaviors associated with using CHPs differed according to weak levels of efficacy beliefs. Two groups of particular concern for low rates of safety behaviors were those with lower education and income levels. Recommendations include (a) customized safety policies and risk communications based on RPA characteristics, (b) distinctive messaging for different groups, (c) policy support for vulnerable populations, and (d) implementing ‘user-centered’ rather than ‘substance-centered’ policies and communications for the public.

Korean Consumers' Recognition of Risks Depending on the Provision of Safety Information for Chemical Products

After the 2011 “Oxy accident” involving deaths from humidifier disinfectants, Korean consumers’ anxiety about chemical products has risen. To provide timely, appropriate information to consumers, we must understand their risk recognition and explore methods of safety information provision. We investigated Korean consumers’ level of risk perception for chemical products depending on the provision of safety information and other factors. We conducted an online survey for 10 days with 600 adult Korean consumer participants and analyzed seven factors: catastrophic potential, controllability, familiarity, fear, scientific knowledge, and risk for future generations. Our results showed that married women over 30 perceived chemical products as higher risk, but when information was provided on how to use products safely, catastrophic potential, controllability, fear, scientific knowledge, as well as risk perception, increased significantly. When only risk diagnosis information was provided, catastrophic potential, fear, and risk for future generations remained static, but familiarity had a negative effect (R^2 = 0.586). Age and scientific knowledge affected the recognition of risk when safe risk management methods were provided (R^2 = 0.587). Risk controllability did not have any effect on risk perception. These results suggest that providing information about avoiding or dealing with risks has a positive effect on consumers’ risk perception.

Framework model of product risk assessment

Risk assessment has been a vital tool in the consumer product safety arena. However, the challenges have been to ensure scientific and robust assessments and to eliminate diverging risk results. Back in year 2005, EuroSafe took the initiative and orchestrated a working group (WG) on risk assessment (EuroSafe WGRA). The WG includes subject experts from regulatory bodies and industry. In the past 2 years the WG has devoted itself to vigorous research in the harmonisation of nomenclatures and the identification of basic principles of non-food consumer product risk assessment. More importantly, it has undertaken the groundbreaking work of the establishment of a risk assessment framework model. The framework model took a step-by-step approach to exemplifying a disciplined thought process: defining the objective, hazard identification and characterisation, exposure assessment, risk characterisation, risk evaluation, risk reduction and residual risk communication. The model is enriched with information source inventories and resource recommendations that can be consulted to develop practical risk assessment methods.

Accidents in family forestry's firewood production

Firewood is commonly used around the world, but little is known about the work involved in its production and associated accidents. The objectives were to identify relationships between accidents and time exposure, workers' age and sex, equipment used and work activities in family forestry's firewood production. Data from a postal survey in Northern Sweden were compared to a database of injuries in the same region. Most accidents occurred to 50-69 year old men, who also worked most hours. No significant differences in sex and age were found between expected and recorded accident frequencies when calculated from total work hours; however, when calculated using numbers of active persons significant differences were found for both age and sex. Frequency of accidents per unit worked time was higher for machine involving activities than for other activities. Accidents that occurred when using wedge splitter machines were responsible for most of this overrepresentation. Fingers were the most commonly injured body parts. Mean accident rate for the equipment used was 87 accidents per million work hours, and the rate was highest for wedge splitters (122 accidents per million work hours). Exposure to elevated risks due to violation of safety procedures is discussed, as well as possible preventative measures.

Lifespan Perspectives on the Foreseeable Use of Consumer Products

FEATURE AT A GLANCE: The determination of foreseeable use – both the unintended and intended uses of consumer products – should be central in the development of any safe product. One of the factors influencing foreseeable use is the age of the potential user. Different age groups have different drivers, which can potentially affect product development. The purpose of this article is to call attention to these drivers and to demonstrate their importance in determining foreseeable use and, in turn, their importance for product safety.

Women's strategies for handling household detergents

Performing household-cleaning chores involves the use of chemical detergents; these are commonly believed to provide cleaner and safer households. Occupational health studies have associated health risks with detergents, including respiratory and skin problems. Women are the major users of household detergents, as they are in general the primary homemakers. Detergent-handling strategies including storage, use, and precautionary measures affect women's exposure to chemical detergents and thus affect their health. Studies investigating the behavioral component of chemical exposure to detergents at the domestic level are scarce. In this study of detergent-handling strategies, women's potential exposure was investigated by an ergonomics methodology combining in-depth interviews and observations. The participants were 28 women who were responsible for cleaning chores in their households. The women lived in Nabaa, a low socioeconomic, religiously and ethnically diverse neighborhood on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon. Information on how women in Nabaa used and perceived household detergent, added to the understanding of their potential chemical exposure. All the study subjects washed dishes, cleaned bathrooms, and swept floors on at least a daily basis. We found that more than half of the participants stored different incompatible detergents in close proximity to each other. Many of the women stated that they over-consumed detergents. A large proportion mixed different detergents together but most of them opened the windows while cleaning for ventilation. The majority did not wear gloves and did not follow label directions. The participants were consistently exposed to chemical detergents and minimal precautionary measures were taken. Cleanliness and hygiene had a strong cultural value and were of utmost importance to women who prioritized them over excessive exposure to chemicals. The use of an ergonomics methodology provided access to important information concerning how women make choices that affect their environmental exposure.

Child passenger safety and the immunity fallacy: Why what we are doing is not working

Motivating parents to take certain safety precautions when traveling with their children remains an elusive challenge for advocates, as caregiver naiveté contributes to poor parental participation in safety-seat checks, low booster-seat use, poor adherence to rear-seat positioning, and intermittent safety-belt use. Because of inherent human biases and unfortunate characteristics of vehicle travel, it is argued that most caregivers possess an immunity fallacy, or a reduced perception of risk for motor vehicle injury to their children. Consequently, traditionally designed child passenger safety campaigns, which are primarily informational, fail to have an impact on most parents. Rather, for maximum behavioral success, injury prevention messages must shock and surprise parents into paying attention to something they would normally dismiss as unimportant.

The use and disposal of household pesticides

Most pesticides are synthetic chemicals manufactured specifically for their toxic properties to the target species, and widely used globally. Several epidemiological studies in the United States have suggested health concerns arising from the chronic exposure of young children to pesticides in the domestic environment. In the UK very little is currently known about how nonoccupational pesticides are being used or disposed of. Any use of pesticides is a potential risk factor for children's exposure, and any potential exposure is likely to be reduced by the parents' adopting precautionary behaviour when using these pesticide products. This was investigated using a sample of 147 parents from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort in and around Bristol, through an in-depth interview between August and November 2001. The results of this study add to the understanding of the underlying behaviour of parents applying pesticide products in the home environment in the UK. Pesticides are readily available, and are normally purchased in do-it-yourself shops and supermarkets and mostly disposed of in domestic waste. Safety was stated by 45% of parents to be the most important factor to consider when buying a pesticide. When buying pesticide products, labels were stated to be the most important source of information about pesticides. However, a third of parents stated they would not follow the product label exactly when using a product, just under half felt labels were both inadequate and hard to understand, and about 10% of parents would not take notice of warnings on the pesticide label. Less than half of parents would use gloves when applying a pesticide, although the use of protective equipment such as gloves during the application of pesticides could greatly reduce the exposure. It is a public health concern that the instructions on the labels of products may not always be understood or followed, and further understanding of user behaviour is needed.

Perceived risk among parents concerning the travel situation for children with disabilities

The aim of this study was to describe perceived risk among parents concerning the travel situation for children with disabilities, in addition to their self-reported knowledge of regulations and standards. The results from the present questionnaire study showed that entering and exiting the vehicles often required manual assistance and, thus, was perceived as risky, creating worry among parents. Parents were also worried about professional drivers' lack of knowledge about the child, incautious driving behaviour and lack of adequate safety measures. A poor postural sitting position was a problem in all vehicles. Half of the parents lacked knowledge about the regulations and standards for school transportation and Special Transport Systems. Lack of information seems to be one underlying reason for the parents' worries. Comprehensive information, focused on the special needs of children with disabilities in their transportation, would probably reduce the parents' worries significantly.