Determinants of perceived risk and liability concerns associated with prescribed burning in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 230 ◽  
pp. 379-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omkar Joshi ◽  
Neelam C. Poudyal ◽  
John R. Weir ◽  
Samuel D. Fuhlendorf ◽  
Thomas O. Ochuodho
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
The United States

Impacts of Social Distancing on Pedestrian Behavior and Risk Perception

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 1302-1306
Author(s):  
Kyra B. Phillips ◽  
Kelly N. Byrne ◽  
Branden S. Kolarik ◽  
Audra K. Krake ◽  
Young C. Bui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Pedestrian Behavior ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Over Time

Since COVID-19 transmission accelerated in the United States in March 2020, guidelines have recommended that individuals wear masks and limit close contact by remaining at least six feet away from others, even while outdoors. Such behavior is important to help slow the spread of the global pandemic; however, it may require pedestrians to make critical decisions about entering a roadway in order to avoid others, potentially creating hazardous situations for both themselves and for drivers. In this survey study, we found that while overall patterns of self-reported pedestrian activity remained largely consistent over time, participants indicated increased willingness to enter active roadways when encountering unmasked pedestrians since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Participants also rated the risks of encountering unmasked pedestrians as greater than those associated with entering a street, though the perceived risk of passing an unmasked pedestrian on the sidewalk decreased over time.

scholarly journals Perceived Risk of Mosquito-Borne Arboviruses in the Continental United States

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1562
Author(s):  
Saul Lozano ◽  
Jonathan Day ◽  
Lilyana Ortega ◽  
Maggie Silver ◽  
Roxanne Connelly
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Vector Control ◽  
News Media ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Transmission Risk ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Use Of Resources

The United States experienced local transmission of West Nile Virus (WNV) for the first time in 1999, and Zika Virus (ZIKV) in 2016. These introductions captured the public’s attention in varying degrees. The research presented here analyzes the disproportional perception of ZIKV risk compared to WNV transmission risk, by the public and vector control personnel. The risk perception of vector control was measured through purposive sampled interviews (24 interviews in 13 states; May 2020–June 2021), while the public’s perception was estimated from news publications (January 2000–December 2020), and Google searches (January 2004–December 2020). Over time, we observed a decrease in the frequency of press reporting and Google searches of both viruses with decreasing annual peaks in the summer. The highest peak of ZIKV news, and searches, surpassed that of WNV. We observed clear differences in the contents of the headlines for both viruses. We propose that the main reason in risk perception differences between the viruses were psychological. Zika infections (mosquito-borne and sexually transmitted) can result in devastating symptoms in fetuses and newborns, observations that frequently appeared in ZIKV-related headlines. Our results highlight the likely influence the news media has on risk perception and the need for public health agencies to play active roles in the conversation, helping disseminate timely and accurate information. Understanding the factors that shape risk perceptions of vector-borne diseases will hopefully lead to better use of resources by providing better guidance.

scholarly journals Policy liberalism and source of news predict pandemic-related health behaviors and trust in the scientific community

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252670
Author(s):  
Madeleine Reinhardt ◽  
Matthew B. Findley ◽  
Renee A. Countryman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
News Media ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Health Measures

In March of 2020, the United States was confronted with a major public health crisis caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This study aimed to identify what factors influence adherence to recently implemented public health measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing, trust of scientific organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on information pertaining to the pandemic, and level of perceived risk. Data were collected from June 30, 2020 to July 22, 2020 on 951 adult residents of the United States using an online survey through Microsoft Forms. Multiple linear regression was used to identify the strongest predictors for compliance to pandemic-related health measures, trust in the scientific community, and perceived risk. Results showed that the strongest predictor of all variables of interest was degree of policy liberalism. Additionally, participants who consumed more conservative news media conformed less to the pandemic health guidelines and had less trust in the scientific community. Degree of policy liberalism was found to have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between gender and conformity to pandemic-related health behaviors. These findings have concerning implications that factors like degree of policy liberalism and source of news are more influential in predicting adherence to life-saving health measures than established risk factors like pre-existing health conditions.

scholarly journals We’re Not Doing Enough Prescribed Fire in the Western United States to Mitigate Wildfire Risk

Fire ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crystal A. Kolden
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Local Ecological Knowledge ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Southeastern Us ◽  
Wildfire Hazard ◽  
Western Us

Prescribed fire is one of the most widely advocated management practices for reducing wildfire hazard and has a long and rich tradition rooted in indigenous and local ecological knowledge. The scientific literature has repeatedly reported that prescribed fire is often the most effective means of achieving such goals by reducing fuels and wildfire hazard and restoring ecological function to fire-adapted ecosystems in the United States (US) following a century of fire exclusion. This has translated into calls from scientists and policy experts for more prescribed fire, particularly in the Western US, where fire activity has escalated in recent decades. The annual extent of prescribed burning in the Western US remained stable or decreased from 1998 to 2018, while 70% of all prescribed fire was completed primarily by non-federal entities in the Southeastern US. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was the only federal agency to substantially increase prescribed fire use, potentially associated with increased tribal self-governance. This suggests that the best available science is not being adopted into management practices, thereby further compounding the fire deficit in the Western US and the potential for more wildfire disasters.

scholarly journals Perceived Risk of Chlamydial and Gonococcal Infection Among Sexually Experienced Young Adults In the United States

2004 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 258-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol A. Ford ◽  
James Jaccard ◽  
Susan G. Millstein ◽  
Philip E. Bardsley ◽  
William C. Miller
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gonococcal Infection

scholarly journals Varied and unexpected changes in the well-being of seniors in the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252962
Author(s):  
Silvia Barcellos ◽  
Mireille Jacobson ◽  
Arthur A. Stone
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Related Factor ◽  
Percentage Points

Recent evidence suggests that psychological health deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic but far less is known about changes in other measures of well-being. We examined changes in a broad set of measures of well-being among seniors just before and after the recognition of community spread of COVID-19 in the United States. We fielded two waves of a survey to a large, national online panel of adults ages 60 to 68 at wave 1. We measured depressive symptoms, negative affect, positive affect, pain, life satisfaction and self-rated health in each survey wave. 16,644 adults answered well-being questions in waves 1 and 2 of our survey (mean[SD]: age 64 [2.6]; 10,165 women [61%]; 15,161 [91%] white). We found large (20%; p<0.001) increases in the rate of depressive symptoms (1.4 percentage points; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.86) and negative mood (0.225 scale points; 95% CI, 0.205 to 0.245) but no change in self-reported health and a decrease (12.5%; p<0.001) in the rate of self-reported pain (5 percentage points; 95% CI, -5.8 to -4.3). Depressive symptoms and negative affect increased more for women. Higher perceived risk of getting COVID-19 and of dying from the disease were associated with larger increases in the rate of depressive symptoms and negative affect and larger decreases in positive affect and life satsifaction. COVID-19 related job/income loss was the only pandemic-related factor predictive of the decline in pain. Although depressive symptoms and mood worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, other measures of well-being were either not materially affected or even improved.

scholarly journals Frequency of Cannabis Use and Medical Cannabis Use Among Persons Living With HIV in the United States: Findings From a Nationally Representative Sample

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren R. Pacek ◽  
Sheri L. Towe ◽  
Andrea L. Hobkirk ◽  
Denis Nash ◽  
Renee D. Goodwin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Medical Cannabis ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Persons Living With Hiv ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Living With Hiv

Little is known about cannabis use frequency, medical cannabis use, or correlates of use among persons living with HIV (PLWH) in United States nationally representative samples. Data came from 626 PLWH from the 2005–2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Logistic regression identified characteristics associated with frequency of cannabis use. Chi-squares identified characteristics associated with medial cannabis use. Non-daily and daily cannabis use was reported by 26.9% and 8.0%. Greater perceived risk of cannabis use was negatively associated with daily and non-daily use. Younger age, substance use, and binge drinking were positively associated with non-daily cannabis use. Smoking and depression were associated with non-daily and daily use. One-quarter reported medical cannabis use. Medical users were more likely to be White, married, and nondrinkers. Cannabis use was common among PLWH. Findings help to differentiate between cannabis users based on frequency of use and medical versus recreational use.

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