The present study investigated older adults’ risk perception, beliefs, and self‐perception in the field of kitchen hygiene and food safety. A qualitative study with semi‐structured focus groups was conducted. A total of 37 older adults (60–80 years of age) from Germany participated in four focus groups that were stratified by gender. Focus groups covered older adults’ food‐handling practices, their perceptions of vulnerability, and their informational needs in the field of food safety. A thematic analysis approach was adopted. The coding categories and subcategories were developed inductively by the researchers based on the data. The coded data were then used to identify overarching themes and subthemes. Main results showed that older adults had confidence in their knowledge and skills with regard to food safety, perceived their post‐war generation overall to be resistant and other so‐called at‐risk groups to be more vulnerable. Moreover, they expressed low informational needs in the area of food safety. The results suggest that age‐specific aspects play a role in older adults’ risk perception and highlight the need to develop age‐specific risk communication strategies that take into account older adults’ beliefs, knowledge, and informational needs.
Microplastics are receiving growing attention in the public debate, while the scientific assessment of risks of microplastics to ecological and human health is still ongoing. Previous studies suggest concerns among the general public with country‐specific differences. However, little is known about the reasoning underlying these concerns. By conducting qualitative interviews with German (n = 15) and Italian citizens (n = 15), this study adopted a cross‐national perspective to investigate which concepts shape citizens’ perceptions of microplastics. A qualitative content analysis was used, with coding categories and subcategories developed inductively. Results showed that interviewees formed assumptions around microplastics despite own uncertainties, transferred knowledge from macro‐ to microplastics, and used the concepts of accumulation and dose–response relationship to make sense of the topic. Moreover, they saw the domains of human health and the environment as intertwined and expressed helplessness when discussing solutions to the microplastics issue. Many themes on the topic were similar in both samples, but there were also some differences. For instance, whereas Italian participants talked about marine‐related microplastics, German participants talked about airborne sources; also, German participants tended to recognize more strongly the actions their country was putting in place to address the problem. These findings underscore the need for proactive risk communication despite remaining gaps in scientific risk assessment. Beyond providing technical information, communicators should consider the reasoning behind risk perception on microplastics and address scientific uncertainty as well as the interconnectedness between the domains of human health and the environment.
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