Perceptions and experiences of environmental health risks among new mothers: a qualitative study in Ontario, Canada

Abstract

There is a growing awareness and concern in contemporary societies about potential health impacts of environmental contaminants on children. Mothers are traditionally more involved than other family members in managing family health and household decisions and thus targeted by public health campaigns to minimise risks. However little is known about how new mothers perceive and experience environmental health risks to their children. In 2010, we undertook a parallel case study using qualitative, in-depth interviews with new mothers and focus groups with public health key informants in two Public Health Units in Ontario Province, Canada. We found that the concern about environmental hazards among participants ranged from having no concerns to actively incorporating prevention into daily life. Overall, there was a common perception among participants that many risks, particularly in the indoor environment, were controllable and therefore of little concern. But environmental risks that originate outside the home were viewed as less controllable and more threatening. In response to such threats, mothers invoked coping strategies such as relying on the capacity of children's bodies to adapt. Regardless of the strategies adopted, actions (or inactions) were contingent upon active information seeking. We also found an optimistic bias in which new mothers reported that other children were at greater risk despite similar environmental circumstances. The findings suggest that risk communication experts must attend to the social and environmental contexts of risk and coping when designing strategies around risk reducing behaviours.

Examining inequities in children’s environmental health: results of a survey on the risk perceptions and protective actions of new mothers

“…Forty-three per cent of the respondents reported taking several actions to reduce environmental health risks, and the most commonly mentioned actions taken revolved around household products (switching from unsafe to safe products) and food (avoiding preservatives, buying organic, improving diet). Protective actions against outdoor risks were almost never mentioned, despite slightly higher awareness about outdoor risks than food risks, lending support to previous findings that mothers felt limited in their ability to control or protect themselves against outdoor risks (Crighton et al 2013). …”

“…This study was the second phase of a larger mixed-methods research project. The first phase involved interviews with new mothers and focus groups with public health key informants (Crighton et al 2013), and the third phase involved interviews with a subsample of the survey respondents approximately two years after initial participation. This research was approved by the University of Ottawa Research Ethics Board, the Ottawa Public Health Ethics Board, and meets all the ethics criteria of Peel Public Health.…”

“…The development of the questionnaire was informed by the first phase of the study (Crighton et al 2013). The questionnaire comprised five major sections: (1) introduction and family health; (2) awareness and concern about environmental health risks, in general, and in the home, neighbourhood and workplace; (3) protective actions taken and barriers to taking action; (4) sources of information; and (5) socioeconomic and demographic characteristics.…”

“…In the first phase, qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with new mothers and public health key informants (Crighton et al 2013). Participants' experiences ranged from having no concerns to actively incorporating prevention in their day-to-day lives.…”

“…While we have learned a great deal in recent years about risk perceptions in the general population Lee et al 2005; Lemyre et al 2006), little is known about new mothers' risk perceptions and associated behaviours as they relate to their children's environmental health. Building on the findings of a previous qualitative study, in which new mothers were interviewed and public health key informants participated in focus groups (Crighton et al 2013), this paper presents the results of a quantitative survey conducted among new mothers in Ontario, Canada, examining perceptions and protective actions related to environmental health risks to children across socioeconomic and geographic contexts.…”