Risk perception of the "mad cow disease" in France: determinants and consequences

How does social presence influence public crisis information sharing intention? Situational pressure perspective

Objective

Public crises seriously affect social stability and personal health. When individuals are in a public crisis environment, they will have the impulse and intention to share information, which is a behavioral attitude shown in the face of a crisis. Public crisis information sharing intention will be affected by many factors. This study aims to examine how the process of social presence may influence information sharing intentions during a public crisis and the mediating effects of situational pressure, including risk perception of disease infection and consistency of perception of opinion climate.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study with 505 youth SNS users. In order to collect as suitable samples as possible, a research website was commissioned to conduct a questionnaire in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in China. This questionnaire was utilized to measure social presence, risk perception of disease infection, consistency of perception of opinion climate and intention to share information about COVID-19. Structural equation modeling was used to examine variable relationships in the research model.

Results

The results showed that social presence was significantly and positively associated with risk perception of disease infection (B = 0.42, p < 0.001), consistency of perception of opinion climate (B = 0.43, p < 0.001) and intention to share information about COVID-19 (B = 0.48, p < 0.001). Risk perception of disease infection (B = 0.19, p < 0.001) and consistency of perception of opinion climate (B = 0.18, p = 0.002) positively predicted youth SNS users' intention to share information about COVID-19. Risk perception of disease infection and consistency of perception of opinion climate mediated the relationship between social presence and intention to share information about COVID-19 (Z = 2.66, CI: 0.03, 0.15; Z = 2.66, CI: 0.02, 0.16).

Conclusion

The study further deepens our understanding of the mechanisms underlying social presence and information sharing intentions. These new findings suggest that some situational cues, including media environment factors (social presence) and perceived stress factors (risk perception of disease infection, consistency of perception of opinion climate) may influence information sharing intention. From the perspective of communication psychology, this study enriched the assessment of information sharing on social media and contributes to understanding of social presence and situation pressure, and it helps to provide specific references for effectively promoting netizens' intention to share information about public crises.

The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on work connectivity behavior

Introduction

Based on event system theory, this study analyzed the influence of the event strength of major public health outside the organization on work connectivity behavior.

Methods

The study collected data from 532 employees on their psychological status and working style during the COVID-19 pandemic through an online questionnaire survey.

Results

The results show that driven by financial risk perception, female employees are more willing to pay work connectivity behavior than male employees and unmarried employees are more willing to pay work connectivity behavior than married employees. The risk perception of employees aged 28-33 has the greatest impact on workplace behavior. The impact of financial risk perception on behavior of employees without children is much higher than that of employees with children. The influence of financial risk perception and social risk perception on their behavior of employees with master's degree is much higher than that of health risk perception, but the workplace behavior of employees with doctor's degree is mainly affected by health risk perception.

Discussion

The novelty of the Corona Virus Disease event has a negative influence on work connectivity duration. The criticality, disruption of the Corona Virus Disease event has a positive influence on work connectivity duration. The criticality of the Corona Virus Disease event has a positive influence on work connectivity frequency. Employees' social risk perception, financial risk perception and health risk perception has a positive influence on the work connectivity duration and work connectivity frequency.

Designing mindfulness information for interaction in social media: The role of information framing, health risk perception and lay theories of health

In the post-pandemic era, our health is facing unprecedented challenges, and people are more willing to obtain health-related information or interact with each other than ever before. In this context, people’s interest in mindfulness information is also growing. However, not enough attention has been paid to the relationship between mindfulness information design and information interaction. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of information design based on the gain and loss framework on people’s willingness to interact with mindfulness information, and to identify the framework for achieving better results. Through two experimental studies, we find that information design based on the framework of gains and losses can produce different effects. Specifically, the findings of the first experiment (N = 282) shows the individuals are more willing to interact mindfulness information when they are exposed to gain-framed information rather than loss-framed. In the second experiment (N = 308), we find that loss framing, compared with gain framing, led to greater health risk perception, which in turn make participants more likely to interact with mindfulness information with others. Additionally, our results show that the lay theories of health plays a moderating role in the direct effect of information framework on willingness to interact with mindfulness information in social media. When individuals hold incremental lay theories, they are more willing to interact with mindfulness information under the gain-framed information condition compared with the loss-framed information condition. However, when individuals are in entity condition, there is no significant difference in the willingness to interact with mindfulness information between the gain-framed and loss-framed information. Our studies of integrating information framework into designing mindfulness information suggest a promising strategy of health information interaction in social media.

Designing mindfulness information for interaction in social media: The role of information framing, health risk perception and lay theories of health

In the post-pandemic era, our health is facing unprecedented challenges, and people are more willing to obtain health-related information or interact with each other than ever before. In this context, people's interest in mindfulness information is also growing. However, not enough attention has been paid to the relationship between mindfulness information design and information interaction. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of information design based on the gain and loss framework on people's willingness to interact with mindfulness information, and to identify the framework for achieving better results. Through two experimental studies, we find that information design based on the framework of gains and losses can produce different effects. Specifically, the findings of the first experiment (N = 282) shows the individuals are more willing to interact mindfulness information when they are exposed to gain-framed information rather than loss-framed. In the second experiment (N = 308), we find that loss framing, compared with gain framing, led to greater health risk perception, which in turn make participants more likely to interact with mindfulness information with others. Additionally, our results show that the lay theories of health plays a moderating role in the direct effect of information framework on willingness to interact with mindfulness information in social media. When individuals hold incremental lay theories, they are more willing to interact with mindfulness information under the gain-framed information condition compared with the loss-framed information condition. However, when individuals are in entity condition, there is no significant difference in the willingness to interact with mindfulness information between the gain-framed and loss-framed information. Our studies of integrating information framework into designing mindfulness information suggest a promising strategy of health information interaction in social media.

Improper weapons are a neglected category of harmful objects

According to legislation, objects are typically classified as weapons if they are offensive per se (referred to here as proper) and if they are adapted for use as weapons or carried with the intent of causing injury (referred to here as improper), with specific regulations on their usage and possession in public spaces. However, little evidence exists on the validity of this distinction in psychology, despite a widespread recognition of the importance of psychological states and subjective perceptions in risk assessment. We conducted an online survey to evaluate hazard perceptions in relation to three dimensions (dangerousness, frequency of events, controllability) of three object categories: proper weapons, improper weapons, and everyday objects. The data from our 300 respondents reveal that the three categories of objects differ from one another on the three dimensions. Moreover, hazard perceptions differ between males and females for improper weapons but less so for proper weapons. These findings suggest that proper and improper weapons are two psychologically distinct categories, albeit with fuzzy boundaries. Investigations into their differential properties may thus help improve risk assessment in security contexts.

The influence of pessimism on adverse network behavior during COVID-19: the mediating effect of negative affect and risk perception

There had been an information epidemic during the COVID-19, which led to a lot of adverse network behavior among Internet users. From the perspective of cognition and emotion, this study focused on exploring the influence mechanism of pessimism on undergraduates' adverse network behavior, and introduced the mediating variable of negative affect and risk perception. In this study, a cross-sectional questionnaire was used to evaluate pessimism, negative affect, risk perception and adverse network behavior of undergraduates to explore the characteristics of network behaviors of undergraduates during the COVID-19. 600 undergraduates from three universities in a city in China were selected as participants, among whom 312 students are female and 288 students are male. The results are as follows: (1) Pessimism is positively correlated with adverse network behavior, and pessimism has a significant positive effect on adverse network behavior. (2) Pessimism is positively correlated with negative affect, and negative affect is positively correlated with adverse network behavior. The mediating effect analysis shows that the mediating effect of negative affect on the relationship between pessimistic personality and adverse network behavior has statistical significance. (3) Pessimism is positively correlated with risk perception and risk perception is positively correlated with adverse network behavior. The mediating effect analysis shows that the mediating effect of risk perception on the relationship between pessimistic personality and adverse network behavior has statistical significance.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03584-z.

Does the COVID-19 external shock matter on household food waste? The impact of social distancing measures during the lockdown

The COVID-19 outbreak forced national governments to the adoption of social distancing and movement limitation measures aimed to reduce the diffusion of the virus and to mitigate its highly disruptive impact on the healthcare systems. Reduced income, job insecurity, distribution system interruptions, product shortages, localized price hikes, and time availability resulted in changes in food-related behaviors of households, including food waste generation. Although the significant progress achieved in the understanding of the multidimensional determinants of food losses and waste, no study has been considering the role of uncertainty generated by exogenous generalized shocks on consumer behavior. Building on an original and nationally representative survey, this work aims to investigate the impact of the measures introduced to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 on the main behavioral factors underpinning household food waste generation. The study develops a theoretical model introducing uncertainty validated through a Structural Equations Modelling approach. Results showed that during the quarantine period declared household food waste decreased, with more than half of the respondents reporting to waste less. The model suggested that the amount of material and non-material resources that consumers can dedicate to food-related activities represents the most influential factor for the generation of household food waste and that uncertainty is significantly affecting the drivers and indirectly influencing the self-declared values of food waste. Results suggest several potential policy implications, of which the most relevant being related to the importance of stimulating improvements in food management opportunities at home.

Study on the relationship between crisis awareness and medical waste separation behavior shown by residents during the COVID-19 epidemic

Specific awareness is an important factor that affects individual behavioral decisions. This study explored the relationship between crisis awareness and medical waste separation behavior shown by urban residents during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. The results of a questionnaire survey data (N = 668) were subjected to statistical analyses, regression analyses, and cross-analyses. In terms of medical waste separation, the detection rate was 12.65%, among which, the waste separation behavior by citizens was the highest (24.56%). In terms of the relationship between crisis awareness and medical waste separation behavior, the crisis awareness generated by the environmental situation is significantly related to individuals' participation in the separation of medical waste. In particular, individual spontaneous crisis awareness only had a significant positive correlation with the waste separation behavior for the decision factor. The residents were clustered into "sensitive", "conscious", "passive", and "insensitive" types based on the original crisis awareness characteristics. The "sensitive" group was more actively involved in the separation of medical waste, while the "insensitive" group showed the worst performance for the separation of medical waste. A comparison of the separation behaviors shown by the "conscious" group and the "passive" group confirmed that environment-driven crisis awareness has a higher correlation with the separation of medical waste by residents.

The structure of unemployment risk perception among migrant workers in China: An exploratory mixed methods study

China has 287 million migrant workers and identifying and preventing their unemployment risk holds theoretical and practical significance. This study collected data in 2019 to explore the structure of migrant workers’ perception of unemployment risk. In the first stage of this study, in-depth interviews and grounded theory analysis were conducted and an interpretation framework for migrant workers’ unemployment risk perception (URP) was developed. In the second stage, a URP scale for migrant workers was developed and then tested and verified using a questionnaire survey and factor analysis. The results showed that the URP of migrant workers is composed of many dimensions: mental, financial, relationship, citizenization and re-migration.

Regulatory focus and junk food avoidance: The influence of health consciousness, perceived risk and message framing

The purpose of this research is to examine: (1) the health-related factors namely perceived health consciousness and perceived risk that motivate a person's intention to avoid junk food consumption, and (2) the influence of regulatory focus (promotion vs prevention foci) on a person's intention to avoid junk food consumption under the conditions of gain-framing vs loss-framing health communication and messages. A set of hypotheses are tested across three studies. Study 1 (n = 148) shows that regulatory focus influences the consumers' intention to avoid junk food. Also, health consciousness mediates the relationship between regulatory focus and junk food avoidance intention. Study 2 (n = 132) finds that perceived risk amplifies the relationship between regulatory focus and health consciousness. Study 3 (n = 168) demonstrates that message framing combined with the appropriate regulatory focus positively influences the consumers' intention to avoid junk food. The findings validate and extend the current theoretical framework in relation to unhealthy eating behaviours (e.g., junk food consumption). Based on the findings of this research, the practitioners can utilise the correct type of health information or claims for the appropriate consumer segment (whether prevention or promotion foci) to effectively implement campaigns and programs.

Customers response to online food delivery services during COVID-19 outbreak using binary logistic regression

This study aims to empirically measure the distinctive characteristics of customers who did and did not order food through Online Food Delivery services (OFDs) during the COVID-19 outbreak in India. Data are collected from 462 OFDs customers. Binary logistic regression is used to examine the respondents' characteristics, such as age, patronage frequency before the lockdown, affective and instrumental beliefs, product involvement and the perceived threat, to examine the significant differences between the two categories of OFDs customers. The binary logistic regression concludes that respondents exhibiting high-perceived threat, less product involvement, less perceived benefit on OFDs and less frequency of online food orders are less likely to order food through OFDs. This study provides specific guidelines to create crisis management strategies.

Save for Safe: Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Consumers' Saving and Spending Behavior in China

In public health emergencies, people are more willing to save money rather than spending it, which is not conductive to economic development and recovery. Due to the absence of relevant research, the internal logic of this phenomenon is not clear. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study systematically explored whether and why public health emergencies stimulate consumers' preference for saving (vs. spending). We conducted two online surveys and used methods including stepwise regression analysis and bootstrapping to test the hypotheses. The first survey, with 1,511 participants from China in February 2020, indicates that the severity of emergencies has a significant positive impact on the populations' willingness to save (vs. spend). Risk perception plays a mediating role between the severity of emergencies and consumers' saving (vs. spending) willingness. Materialism plays a moderating role between risk perception and an individual's saving (vs. spending) willingness, individuals who are more materialistic have a lower saving (vs. spending) willingness when they perceive the risks of the pandemic. To verify the duration of the above effects, we conducted a follow-up survey consisted of 466 instances in August 2020. It is noteworthy that the above effects are not significant during the post-pandemic period. Thus, spending behavior in public health emergencies can be motived by reducing risk perception and increasing materialism. These findings can provide a valuable inspiration for public health, crisis management, and economic recovery during public health emergencies.

Health Risk Perception, Consumption Intention, and Willingness to Pay for Pig Products Obtained by Immunocastration

Simple Summary

Public awareness of farm animal welfare has gradually increased. It is well-known that some routine procedures in pig farming are detrimental to animal welfare, including surgical castration, especially without anaesthesia and/or analgesia. Some alternative techniques that offer welfare advantages over surgical castration can be implemented—immunocastration is among them. However, producers fear that consumers may be frightened by this technique and therefore they delay changes in the production system. This work aimed to understand whether Italian consumers perceive a health risk from the immunocastration technique and whether this perception is connected with their willingness to consume and to pay for products derived from immunocastrated animals. The results show that, within the Italian population, there are different levels of perceived health risk and that, as the perception of risk increases, the willingness to consume products obtained from immunocastrated animals decreases (and vice versa). The health risk perception by consumers also changes the willingness to pay for immunocastrated products. Particular attention must be paid to the information transmitted to the consumer if this technology will be widely adopted in pig husbandry.

Abstract

Surgical castration without the use of anaesthesia and/or analgesia is considered to be detrimental for the welfare of pigs and for this reason its abandonment is advocated. Immunocastration is a more welfare-friendly alternative method; however, stakeholders in the pork sector fear consumer rejection due to perceived safety issues of immunocastrated meat. This work aimed to analyse whether Italian consumers perceive a health risk arising from the use of this technique and, if so, how the perceived risk may influence the purchase choices and the willingness to pay for products derived from immunocastrated animals. To achieve this objective, a survey was carried out on a representative sample of the Italian population. The results highlight that consumers perceive different levels of risk related to the use of immunocastration and that this influences purchasing behaviour and willingness to pay. Moreover, it should be noted that the willingness to pay is also influenced by certain demographic factors, since this is positively associated with younger respondents with lower incomes and less knowledge of farming systems, who live in rural areas and have a greater sensitivity to animal welfare. Given the concerns expressed by consumers, particular attention must be paid to the information transmitted if this technology will be widely implemented in pig husbandry.

Food Safety Gaps between Consumers' Expectations and Perceptions: Development and Verification of a Gap-Assessment Tool

In recent decades, food safety has become a major concern due to frequent food safety incidents in many countries. This may lead to increased health risks associated with low quality food consumption, thereby reducing consumer trust in food safety. A better understanding of consumer perceptions of food safety can improve indicators that do not meet consumer expectations. We propose a food safety gap model with four gap-construct based on consumer expectations and perceptions. The model was empirically tested through a survey of 25 items, and then assessed for gaps through the importance-performance analysis (IPA). From a sample of 697 Taiwanese consumers, we found a huge gap between consumer expectations and perceptions related to food safety. More importantly, the results of the IPA indicate that most items must be immediately improved, which is vital in order to mitigate the risk of food safety.

Emerging trends of Zika apprehension in an epidemic setting

Background

French Guiana is a territory that has a decades-long history of dengue outbreaks and more recently, in 2014, a chikungunya outbreak. Zika virus (ZIKV) emerged in late 2015 and subsequently led to an important outbreak.

Methodology/Principal findings

A cross-sectional phone survey was conducted among the general population during the outbreak in June 2016 with a total of 1,129 individuals interviewed to assess perceptions, knowledge and behaviors regarding zika infection. The population seemed aware of zika, and perceived the infection as a more serious health threat than other common mosquito-borne diseases. Furthermore, both the perceptions and behaviors related to zika and its prevention were found to vary considerably among different social groups, geographic areas and gender; less educated female participants were found to perceive the disease as more worrisome and were less likely to adopt protective behaviors. Moreover, female population has been particularly responsive to awareness campaigns and rapidly understood the extent of risks associated with ZIKV infection.

Conclusions/Significance

These results revealed that ZIKV appeared at the time of the survey as a new health threat that concerns the public more than chikungunya and dengue fever with differences observed among subgroups of population. These results have implications for the development of multifaceted infection control programs, including strategies for prevention and awareness, helping the population to develop an accurate perception of the threat they are facing and encouraging behavior changes.

Although dengue fever has been a focus of many awareness campaigns in Latin America, very little information is available about beliefs, attitudes and behaviors regarding vector-borne diseases among the population of French Guiana. Following the end of the first chikungunya outbreak and at the initial onset of the first zika outbreak, a quantitative survey was conducted among 1129 individuals aiming to study the emotional, cognitive and behavioral response to the risk of zika infection and assess variations among different groups of population. People from French Guiana were found to perceive zika substantially differently from other Aedes mosquito-borne diseases. Overall, ZIKV appeared at the time of the survey as a new health threat that makes the population more scared than chikungunya and dengue fever. Furthermore, both the beliefs and behaviors related to zika and its prevention were found to vary considerably among different social groups, gender and geographic areas. Education had an impact on perceptions and behaviors among women. Female population has been particularly responsive to awareness campaigns and rapidly understood the extent of risks associated with ZIKV infection. Overall, findings emphasize the importance of developing appropriate and relevant strategies helping population to engage in protective behaviors adapted to the health threat they are facing. Given the importance of the public response and precautionary actions to control the spread of an emergent threat, additional research on risk perceptions and other behavioral determinants is warranted.

Presenting information on regulation values improves the public's sense of safety: Perceived mercury risk in fish and shellfish and its effects on consumption intention

Risk communication aims to promote health and understanding through information exchange; however, explanations regarding the basis of regulation values for the public are insufficient. Moreover, it is unclear how information presentation affects the public’s sense of safety and their consumption intentions. We first investigated the relationship between perception of mercury-risk in fish and shellfish and individual attributes and knowledge. We then examined how presenting information on regulation values and primary factors regarding perception affected sense of safety toward regulations and food-consumption intentions. An online survey was conducted with Japanese individuals (N = 1148). Respondents were randomly assigned to one of three groups based on the presentation level of regulation values. People who frequently consumed tuna had a high perception of dread risk of mercury. This suggests that the dread risk perception of mercury does not determine tuna-type consumption behavior; rather, individuals’ consumption behavior determines dread risk perception of mercury. Among those with high tuna-type consumption, those receiving information that a safety factor of 10 times had been considered showed a significantly greater sense of safety than did the group that was not presented with information on regulation values (odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 2.04 (1.18–3.53), p < 0.05). However, presentation of regulation values showed a weak but significantly positive correlation with excessive intake of tuna-type fish (odds ratio: 2.95 (0.93–9.32), p < 0.10). Presenting the information on regulation values increases sense of safety; however, it may also lead to excessive intake.

Assessing Mental Models of Emergencies Through Two Knowledge Elicitation Tasks

OBJECTIVE

The goals of this study were to assess the risk identification aspect of mental models using standard elicitation methods and how university campus alerts were related to these mental models.

BACKGROUND

People fail to follow protective action recommendations in emergency warnings. Past research has yet to examine cognitive processes that influence emergency decision-making.

METHOD

Study 1 examined 2 years of emergency alerts distributed by a large southeastern university. In Study 2, participants listed emergencies in a thought-listing task. Study 3 measured participants' time to decide if a situation was an emergency.

RESULTS

The university distributed the most alerts about an armed person, theft, and fire. In Study 2, participants most frequently listed fire, car accident, heart attack, and theft. In Study 3, participants quickly decided a bomb, murder, fire, tornado, and rape were emergencies. They most slowly decided that a suspicious package and identify theft were emergencies.

CONCLUSION

Recent interaction with warnings was only somewhat related to participants' mental models of emergencies. Risk identification precedes decision-making and applying protective actions. Examining these characteristics of people's mental representations of emergencies is fundamental to further understand why some emergency warnings go ignored.

APPLICATION

Someone must believe a situation is serious to categorize it as an emergency before taking the protective action recommendations in an emergency warning. Present-day research must continue to examine the problem of people ignoring warning communication, as there are important cognitive factors that have not yet been explored until the present research.

Fear and trust: How risk perceptions of avian influenza affect Chinese consumers' demand for chicken

This article quantifies the impact of H7N9 bird flu on chicken demand and consumer willingness to pay (WTP) in China. We measure risk perception, fear and trust against actual reduction in consumption and stated change in WTP for safe chicken between 2012 and 2013. Through a survey conducted in each year on the same Chinese urban consumers, we found that the consumption of chicken never increased after the emergence of H7N9 in 2013, and WTP for safe chicken did not necessarily increase relative to generic risks associated with consuming chicken in 2012. Factors such as the fear of H7N9's spreading, the impact of distrust (especially the distrust in government) enhanced the deviation of consumption and WTP; and the sheer mentioning of H7N9 is more important and negative than whether it was associated with a risk-perception reducing or risk-perception elevating message given to consumers.

Effects of distribution of infection rate on epidemic models

A goal of many epidemic models is to compute the outcome of the epidemics from the observed infected early dynamics. However, often, the total number of infected individuals at the end of the epidemics is much lower than predicted from the early dynamics. This discrepancy is argued to result from human intervention or nonlinear dynamics not incorporated in standard models. We show that when variability in infection rates is included in standard susciptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) and susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) models the total number of infected individuals in the late dynamics can be orders lower than predicted from the early dynamics. This discrepancy holds for SIS and SIR models, where the assumption that all individuals have the same sensitivity is eliminated. In contrast with network models, fixed partnerships are not assumed. We derive a moment closure scheme capturing the distribution of sensitivities. We find that the shape of the sensitivity distribution does not affect R_{0} or the number of infected individuals in the early phases of the epidemics. However, a wide distribution of sensitivities reduces the total number of removed individuals in the SIR model and the steady-state infected fraction in the SIS model. The difference between the early and late dynamics implies that in order to extrapolate the expected effect of the epidemics from the initial phase of the epidemics, the rate of change in the average infectivity should be computed. These results are supported by a comparison of the theoretical model to the Ebola epidemics and by numerical simulation.

Long-term impacts of bovine spongiform encephalopathy on beef risk perceptions and risk attitudes in Canada

In this study, the objective was to examine whether or not changes in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) concerns exert an effect on people's risk perceptions and risk attitudes regarding consuming beef in Canada, 8 years after finding the first domestic animal with BSE. Data were collected from two surveys (2071 respondents) conducted with the same respondents in 2008 and 2011 in Canada. Data on meat consumption for the same households were also available from the Nielsen Homescan panel over the period 2002 to 2009. Based on census data, the current sample is generally not representative of the Canadian population, but the sample is unique in that the same individuals responded to two surveys and there is an ability to track their evolving household purchases of beef before the first survey and between the two surveys. In essence, alterations in beef risk perceptions are significantly influenced by changes in concerns regarding (1) feed given to livestock, (2) animal diseases and BSE, (3) trust in manufacturers, the government, and farmers, and (4) demographic characteristics. There were significant differences in beef purchases across households, with alterations to their risk perceptions and risk attitudes. In conclusion, although the first domestic incident of BSE was in 2003, concerns regarding BSE are still contributing to consumers' risk perceptions but not to their risk attitudes with respect to consumption of beef in 2011.

The GMO case in France: politics, lawlessness and postmodernism

The GMO debacle in France is analyzed in the light of the balance of forces around this controversy, the changes in position of governments and the opponents' strategic use of intimidation. These factors have caused insurmountable difficulties for scientific experimentations and assessment of the technology, as well as for farmers attempting to grow GM maize in this country. The change from a "modern" to a "postmodern" framing of official public debates and scientific institutions has not appeased confrontations concerning GMOs.

The influence of media communication on risk perception and behavior related to mad cow disease in South Korea

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the influence of media communication on risk behavior related to mad cow disease (MCD).

METHODS

Mothers of elementary school students in Seoul were recruited as the survey participants of this study.

RESULTS

Media reports affected risk behavior related to MCD. Also, knowledge and attitude toward MCD affects risk behavior.

CONCLUSION

Risk-related information provided by the media should maintain consistency and objectivity. For effective risk communication, there should be an open communication between the government and public, experts, and related industries, who should all collaborate.

Investigating heterogeneity in the characterization of risks using best worst scaling

This research proposes and implements a new approach to the elicitation and analysis of perceptions of risk. We use best worst scaling (BWS) to elicit the levels of control respondents believe they have over risks and the level of concern those risks prompt. The approach seeks perceptions of control and concern over a large risk set and the elicitation method is structured so as to reduce the cognitive burden typically associated with ranking over large sets. The BWS approach is designed to yield strong discrimination over items. Further, the approach permits derivation of individual-level values, in this case of perceptions of control and worry, and analysis of how these vary over observable characteristics, through estimation of random parameter logit models. The approach is implemented for a set of 20 food and nonfood risks. The results show considerable heterogeneity in perceptions of control and worry, that the degree of heterogeneity varies across the risks, and that women systematically consider themselves to have less control over the risks than men.

[Feedback from primary care practitioners two years after the chikungunya epidemic on Reunion Island, 2005-2006]

Primary care practitioners constitute key stakeholders in the surveillance and control of epidemic-prone infectious diseases. We carried out a survey in Reunion Island two years after the 2006 chikungunya epidemic using a purposive random sample of 100 general practitioners (GP). The objective was to describe and identity factors associated to GP involvement in case notification during the 2006 chikungunya epidemic. The methods were: administered face-to-face questionnaire and identification of notification determinants by univariate and multivariate analyses. Nearly 60% of participants declared having failed to join the case notification procedure. The main impeding factor was the acknowledgment of limited capacities consecutive to massive influx of patients. Inversely, practicing in group organization tended to show a favorable effect on case notification. In addition, most responders reported the relevance of the information provided by health authorities, despite a perceived limited efficacy of the procedure in the field. Primary care practitioners' involvement in the surveillance of epidemic infectious diseases requires to be reinforced by a preestablished partnership within a proactive network. This goal comprehends relevant training and preparation for epidemic surveillance.

Determinants of public phobia about infectious diseases in South Korea: effect of health communication and gender difference

This study investigated the individual and social determinants of the public's phobia of infectious diseases in South Korea, where collective action was recently fueled by the public phobia over mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE]). Gender-specific multivariate regression was used to compare the public perception of BSE and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The analysis results differentiated between the determinants of the phobia for the 2 diseases, BSE and HPAI (N = 1002). As with HIV/AIDS and leprosy, the public fear of HPAI was expressed as a disease phobia that seeks to ensure the social exclusion of infection sources, whereas the fear of BSE was influenced by social and communication factors. Therefore, BSE, unlike previous HPAI, can be rapidly amplified amid the growing distrust in health communication, in which case the social determinants of disease phobia are associated with communicator trust, social values, and political attitude toward diseases rather than disease perception.

Uncertainty beyond probabilities of BSE: appraisals predicting worry and coping strategies in the Canadian public

The impact of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is not limited to the infection with the BSE agent but also affects psychosocial responses, such as worry and loss of confidence in public authorities. It was shown in past crises that these reactions depended upon the way the event was perceived by the public. Understanding the nature of the perceptions of BSE is therefore of great importance for risk management in all phases of the risk, including the period before the onset of a crisis, when BSE is still only a pending threat to human health. This study analyzed data from a representative national survey of Canadians (n = 1,517) on the perceived risk of prion diseases. Factor analysis revealed emerging dimensions of BSE appraisals and regression analysis identified variables that predicted worry and coping strategies. Results yielded three significant factors, each relating differently to reactions to BSE: (1) Perceived impact, which combined perceived risk for health and likelihood of occurrence of BSE crises, was the main predictor of worry about eating tainted beef; (2) perceived mastery, consisting of personal knowledge and control, predicted taking action to avoid the disease; and (3) perceived intricacy, composed of perceived complexity and uncertainty, uniquely predicted trying to ignore BSE-related risks. Further regression analysis and analysis of variance exposed a moderating role of perceived intricacy on the relationship between perceived impact of BSE crises and worry. The implications of these findings for risk communication and management are described.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, risk perceptions, and beef consumption: differences between Canada and Japan

This study provides an assessment of the perceived relative risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the context of other aspects of livestock production and human health issues. The factors influencing consumers' concerns regarding these issues are identified. Consumers' risk perceptions and risk attitudes about beef and poultry and the factors that influenced any reduction in beef consumption due to food safety issues or BSE are analyzed. General population internet-based survey were used to collect data in Japan (2009) and Canada (2006, 2009). BSE remains the highest ranking livestock production concern in Japan, in 2009, 9 years after the first animal with BSE was found in Japan. In Canada (2009), 6 years after the first domestic animal was found to have BSE, BSE ranked 7 out of 8 in possible livestock production concerns. Respondents in both countries who are older and female have a higher probability of being concerned about all livestock production issues. Higher levels of education in Canada are associated with a lower probability of ranking BSE as a high risk issue, while in Japan the opposite occurs. Canadian respondents have higher risk perceptions about poultry than beef and are more willing to accept the risks of eating beef than poultry (higher risk attitudes) than Japanese respondents. Together with some of the demographic variables, risk attitudes and risk perceptions have significantly influenced reductions in beef consumption due to food safety issues over the past 4 years and since consumers first heard about BSE.

Do beef risk perceptions or risk attitudes have a greater effect on the beef purchase decisions of Canadian consumers?

Cluster analysis is applied in this study to group Canadian households by two characteristics, their risk perceptions and risk attitudes toward beef. There are some similarities in demographic profiles, meat purchases, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) media recall between the cluster that perceives beef to be the most risky and the cluster that has little willingness to accept the risks of eating beef. There are similarities between the medium risk perception cluster and the medium risk attitude cluster, as well as between the cluster that perceives beef to have little risk and the cluster that is most willing to accept the risks of eating beef. Regression analysis shows that risk attitudes have a larger impact on household-level beef purchasing decisions than do risk perceptions for all consumer clusters. This implies that it may be more effective to undertake policies that reduce the risks associated with eating beef, instead of enhancing risk communication to improve risk perceptions. Only for certain clusters with higher willingness to accept the risks of eating beef might enhancing risk communication increase beef consumption significantly. The different role of risk perceptions and risk attitudes in beef consumption needs to be recognized during the design of risk management policies.

Risk ranking: investigating expert and public differences in evaluating food safety hazards

The allocation of resources with respect to food safety issues requires that decision makers prioritize these issues, which may conflict with the public's opinions on these matters. The purpose of this study was to compare how Canadian expert and lay respondents rank different food hazards, with a view to better understanding their underlying rationales for making decisions on food safety. A Carnegie Mellon risk ranking model was adapted for use by individuals with different backgrounds to rank six food safety issues: bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, botulism, paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), and acrylamide. Focus groups were conducted using public (n=29) and expert (n=21) participants. Key themes were identified from the focus groups as reasons why issues were rated high or low. The most common themes for high rankings were prevalence (of an agent) and/or severity (of a disease) and knowledge and control of a food safety issue. For the lowest rankings, common themes included low prevalence and severity and personal control over an issue. Explanations for why choices were made included availability, affect, numeracy, and optimistic bias. The majority of the rationales used by all participants were similar with the exception of the high ranking given to acrylamide by the public participants. The effect of attribute framing seemed to be the most influential in a participant's choices. Understanding that comparable reasoning is used in food safety decisions by both experts and the public has important implications for developing productive risk communication dialogues about issues and priorities.

Product quality risk perceptions and decisions: contaminated pet food and lead-painted toys

In the context of the recent recalls of contaminated pet food and lead-painted toys in the United States, we examine patterns of risk perceptions and decisions when facing consumer product-caused quality risks. Two approaches were used to explore risk perceptions of the product recalls. In the first approach, we elicited judged probabilities and found that people appear to have greatly overestimated the actual risks for both product scenarios. In the second approach, we applied the psychometric paradigm to examine risk perception dimensions concerning these two specific products through factor analysis. There was a similar risk perception pattern for both products: they are seen as unknown risks and are relatively not dread risks. This pattern was also similar to what prior research found for lead paint. Further, we studied people's potential actions to deal with the recalls of these two products. Several factors were found to be significant predictors of respondents' cautious actions for both product scenarios. Policy considerations regarding product quality risks are discussed. For example, risk communicators could reframe information messages to prompt people to consider total risks packed together from different causes, even when the risk message has been initiated due to a specific recall event.

Factors in vaccination intention against the pandemic influenza A/H1N1

Background: Vaccination against pandemic influenza A/H1N1 is an effective strategy to mitigate the spread of the disease. While the vaccine is now available, social acceptance remains relatively uncertain in many societies. The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs, attitudes and practices associated with the intention to get vaccinated against the A/H1N1 virus among the general population in France. Methods: A representative sample of 1001 individuals (stratified random recruitment procedure, ages 16–90 years) was interviewed by telephone. The questionnaire included a variety of items associated with socio-demographic characteristics, risk perceptions, illness perceptions, political attitudes and worldviews as well as intention to get vaccinated. Results: More than 6 out of 10 of the respondents indicated that they planned to get vaccinated when the vaccine becomes available. The same proportion of parents also reported the intention to vaccinate their children against the disease. In multiple regression analyses, socio-cognitive factors consistently predicting influenza A/H1N1 vaccination were: level of worry, risk perception and previous experience of vaccine against seasonal flu. Conclusions: The factors found to predict vaccination intention and their distribution are assumed to be a consequence of the fact that people perceive the risk of swine flu to be similar to that of seasonal flu. As a result, in the absence of an increase of the risk perception of pandemic influenza A/H1N1, a very low level of actual vaccination is forecasted. Behavioural change would require that the risks and consequences of pandemic influenza A/H1N1 be perceived as highly different from seasonal flu.

Consumer confidence in the safety of food and newspaper coverage of food safety issues: a longitudinal perspective

This study develops a longitudinal perspective on consumer confidence in the safety of food to explore if, how, and why consumer confidence changes over time. In the first study, a theory-based monitoring instrument for consumer confidence in the safety of food was developed and validated. The monitoring instrument assesses consumer confidence together with its determinants. Model and measurement invariance were validated rigorously before developments in consumer confidence in the safety of food and its determinants were investigated over time. The results from the longitudinal analysis show that across four waves of annual data collection (2003-2006), the framework was stable and that the relative importance of the determinants of confidence was, generally, constant over time. Some changes were observed regarding the mean ratings on the latent constructs. The second study explored how newspaper coverage of food safety related issues affects consumer confidence in the safety of food through subjective consumer recall of food safety incidents. The results show that the newspaper coverage on food safety issues is positively associated with consumer recall of food safety incidents, both in terms of intensity and recency of media coverage.

Psychosocial consequences of infectious diseases

Historically, there has been an exaggerated fear related to infection compared to other conditions. Infection possesses unique characteristics that account for this disproportionate degree of fear: it is transmitted rapidly and invisibly; historically, it has accounted for major morbidity and mortality; old forms re-emerge and new forms emerge; and both the media and society are often in awe. Because, in an outbreak, the patient is both a victim and a vector, and because there exists the potential for infringement of personal rights in order to control an outbreak, infection may be viewed (and has been depicted in popular culture) as a foreign invasion. During recent outbreaks, fear, denial, stigmatization and loss have been recorded in the implicated individuals. Stigmatization and discrimination may further involve ethical correlations, and attempts to adress these issues through activism may also have unwarranted effects. Public health initiatives can address the public's fears by increasing health literacy, which can contribute to reducing stigmatization.

The role of risk perceptions in the risk mitigation process: the case of wildfire in high risk communities

An important policy question receiving considerable attention concerns the risk perception-risk mitigation process that guides how individuals choose to address natural hazard risks. This question is considered in the context of wildfire. We analyze the factors that influence risk reduction behaviors by homeowners living in the wildland-urban interface. The factors considered are direct experience, knowledge of wildfire risk, locus of responsibility, fulltime/seasonal status, and self-efficacy. Survey data from three homeowner associations in the western U.S. are used to estimate the direct and indirect effects of this relationship. Our results indicate that the effects of knowledge and locus of responsibility are mediated by homeowners' risk perceptions. We also find that beliefs of self-efficacy and fulltime/seasonal status have a direct influence on risk reduction behaviors. Finally, we find, surprisingly, that direct experience with wildfire does not directly influence the risk perception-risk mitigation process.

International case studies of psychosocial ripple effects of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in European countries

The public is increasingly concerned about risks associated with food. Food-borne diseases can easily mobilize public concerns and create strong emotional, behavioral, and political reactions with significant negative economic and psychosocial outcomes. This was observed in various countries globally experiencing the presence of prion disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). This study highlights case-study material from various countries for key psychosocial impacts such as the public's worry and fear vis-a-vis beef consumption and the loss of confidence and trust in authorities stemming from the occurrence and management of the BSE crisis. These psychosocial impacts and resultant public behavioral responses are presented at a number of levels including individual, family, community, and societal for several European countries, with special emphasis on the UK case study. Given failures to identify the scope of individual concern about prion diseases, and to address these concerns in decision-making processes and risk communication strategies, there remains a need for further systematic research and psychosocial monitoring of the ripple effects of BSE.