Health risk perception in Canada I: Rating hazards, sources of information and responsibility for health protection

Abstract

A national survey of 1500 Canadians was carried out to assess public perception of health risks. Questionnaire items focussed on ratings of perceived risk, sources of information on health risks and responsibility for risk management, attitude and opinions about risk, and risk taking and risk-avoiding behaviors in which the respondent has engaged. Respondents cited the news media as their most common source of information on health risks, but expressed most confidence in risk information provided by the medical profession. Respondents assigned risk management responsibility to many groups and organizations, but perceived medical doctors and Health and Welfare Canada as doing the best job of fulfilling their responsibilities. The Canadian public reported a high degree of perceived risk for many hazards, and were particularly sensitive to lifestyle risks such as cigarette smoking, street drugs, alcohol, AIDS and suntanning that are also of concern to health professionals. Other findings included a high degree of concern about health risks associated with industrial pollution and chemical products (with the exception of medicines), a widespread belief that a risk-free environment was an achievable goal, and sizable differences in perception of risk by gender, age, education and region.

Improving Quarantine Risk Communication: Understanding Public Risk Perceptions

“…The high rating is consistent with findings in Canada where many respondents live far from nuclear reactors and their wastes (Krewski, Slovic, Bartlett, Flynn, & Mertz, 1995). Extreme fears of nuclear power clearly transcend geographical location.…”

Gender and place influences on health risk perspectives in northern Canadian Aboriginal communities

“…Second, the responses to a multi-part question asking participants to rank a series of risks on a 5-point Likert scale (ranging from 1 ¼ 'not dangerous at all' to 5 ¼ 'very dangerous') were examined with respect to demographic relationships. This approach was consistent with previous risk perception research (Slovic et al 1993(Slovic et al , 1995Krewski et al 1995aKrewski et al , 1995b. People were asked 'In your opinion, how dangerous are the following things to your health?…”

Risk Ranking by the British Public: A Survey of Worry About a Broad Spectrum of Risk Issues

“…Only 6% of respondents worry a 'great deal' about the effects of alcohol and a similar proportion about lack of exercise. Additionally, in contrast to a Canadian survey (Krewski et al, 1995) where cigarette smoking was perceived as presenting the highest risk among 33 hazard items, only 15% of respondents in this survey worry a 'great deal' about the health risks of smoking. There is little difference between the proportions of smokers and non-smokers who worry either a 'great deal' or a 'fair amount' about the risks of smoking.…”

“…Accumulated research findings (Krewski et al, 1995;Davidson and Freudenburg, 1996) point to a higher level of expressed concern among women about risks, but suggest that this tendency is not universal. Younger people have been found to show more concern about long-term environmental risks, while older age groups more frequently mention risks to health, safety, and personal and societal well-being, suggesting that topics of concern vary according to position in life (Fischer et al, 1991).…”

“…While the subject might not feature highly in people's everyday worries, it is still something they regard as a serious issue -although more of a problem for society, rather than a problem for themselves or their family. In other surveys (Krewski et al, 1995;Brenot, Bonnefous and Mays, 1996) drugs have been rated higher in terms of societal risk as opposed to individual risk. It could also be that interviewer bias is at work here, causing respondents to give a socially acceptable answer.…”