Climate Change and Child Health - Assessment of Parents’ Perspective and Relevance

AbstractBackgroundOngoing climate change has several indirect and direct health consequences. Children are among the most vulnerable group to suffer from these health impacts. Parents as caregivers play a particularly important role in protecting them adequately.ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to investigate how parents perceive the health consequences of climate change. Of particular interest were their information status and already used communication channels, to make them more addressable. In addition, their risk perception and relevance estimation of the health consequences of climate change for their children were investigated.MethodsParents were able to participate anonymously in the study from March to June 2020 by means of an online questionnaire. The study sample consisted of 292 parents living in Germany (age: M = 42.02; SD = 7.73; sex: ♀ = 190; ♂ = 54) with at least one child aged 0 to 18 years. Open-ended questions and closed-ended questions with Likert scales were used. Data were analyzed descriptively. Correlations and regression analysis were performed.FindingsAbout 75% of the respondents knew at least one health consequence of climate change. Heat related illnesses were named as the most important health consequences (74.1%). Parents obtain most of their information from the Internet (73.3%). The increase of air pollutants is estimated as the most relevant risk for the health of their children. Relevance estimation affects risk perception.ConclusionParents are aware of the importance of being informed about the health consequences of climate change. Therefore, knowledge about the health consequences in relation to the relevance assessment must be communicated clearly and sufficiently. Information channels already used should be improved and further multipliers identified.

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The Effectiveness of Narrative Versus Didactic Information Formats on Pregnant Women’s Knowledge, Risk Perception, Self-Efficacy, and Information Seeking Related to Climate Change Health Risks

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17196969 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (19) ◽

pp. 6969

Author(s):

Adebanke L. Adebayo ◽

Rochelle Davidson Mhonde ◽

Nathaniel DeNicola ◽

Edward Maibach

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Risk Perception ◽

Child Health ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Outcome Measures ◽

Maternal And Child Health ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Narrative Format ◽

And Child Health

Climate change is a global threat that poses significant risks to pregnant women and to their developing fetus and newborn. Educating pregnant women about the risks to their pregnancy may improve maternal and child health outcomes. Prior research suggests that presenting health information in narrative format can be more effective than a didactic format. Hence, the purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of two brief educational interventions in a diverse group of pregnant women (n = 151). Specifically, using a post-test only randomized experiment, we compared the effectiveness of brief information presented in a narrative format versus a didactic format; both information formats were also compared to a no information control group. Outcome measures included pregnant women’s actual and perceived knowledge, risk perception, affective assessment, self-efficacy, intention to take protective behaviors, and subsequent information seeking behavior. As hypothesized, for all outcome measures, the narrative format was more effective than the didactic format. These results suggest the benefits of a narrative approach (versus a didactic approach) to educating pregnant women about the maternal and child health threats posed by climate change. This study adds to a growing literature on the effectiveness of narrative-based approaches to health communication.

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Public perceptions of Lyme disease and climate change in southern Manitoba, Canada: making a case for strategic decoupling of climate and health messages

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10614-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Laura Cameron ◽

Rhéa Rocque ◽

Kailey Penner ◽

Ian Mauro

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Climate Change ◽

Risk Perception ◽

Lyme Disease ◽

Risk Perceptions ◽

Public Discourse ◽

Behavioural Change ◽

Health Messages ◽

Urban Rural ◽

Climate And Health

Abstract Background Despite scientific evidence that climate change has profound and far reaching implications for public health, translating this knowledge in a manner that supports citizen engagement, applied decision-making, and behavioural change can be challenging. This is especially true for complex vector-borne zoonotic diseases such as Lyme disease, a tick-borne disease which is increasing in range and impact across Canada and internationally in large part due to climate change. This exploratory research aims to better understand public risk perceptions of climate change and Lyme disease in order to increase engagement and motivate behavioural change. Methods A focus group study involving 61 participants was conducted in three communities in the Canadian Prairie province of Manitoba in 2019. Focus groups were segmented by urban, rural, and urban-rural geographies, and between participants with high and low levels of self-reported concern regarding climate change. Results Findings indicate a broad range of knowledge and risk perceptions on both climate change and Lyme disease, which seem to reflect the controversy and complexity of both issues in the larger public discourse. Participants in high climate concern groups were found to have greater climate change knowledge, higher perception of risk, and less skepticism than those in low concern groups. Participants outside of the urban centre were found to have more familiarity with ticks, Lyme disease, and preventative behaviours, identifying differential sources of resilience and vulnerability. Risk perceptions of climate change and Lyme disease were found to vary independently rather than correlate, meaning that high climate change risk perception did not necessarily indicate high Lyme disease risk perception and vice versa. Conclusions This research contributes to the growing literature framing climate change as a public health issue, and suggests that in certain cases climate and health messages might be framed in a way that strategically decouples the issue when addressing climate skeptical audiences. A model showing the potential relationship between Lyme disease and climate change perceptions is proposed, and implications for engagement on climate change health impacts are discussed.

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Uncertainty about the risks associated with microplastics among lay and topic-experienced respondents

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-86569-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Christina J. Thiele ◽

Malcolm D. Hudson

Keyword(s):

Risk Perception ◽

Scientific Community ◽

Scientific Work ◽

Environmental Issue ◽

Contaminants Of Emerging Concern ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Present Part ◽

Fact Checking ◽

Level Of Concern ◽

People’S Perceptions

AbstractMicroplastics are contaminants of emerging concern but there is currently a lack of evidence on actual risks relating to them, despite claims in media and scientific articles. Research on people’s perceptions on microplastics is in its infancy. Here we present part of a larger survey about people’s perceptions of issues with microplastics. Our analysis of 1681 responses across the globe to an online questionnaire demonstrates a certain level of uncertainty, not only in lay people but also respondents who study/work on the topic of plastics and microplastics as a pollutant. This uncertainty ranges from level of concern about microplastics as an environmental issue to existing evidence for effects. Further, there is some discrepancy between risk perception and state of the research. Some of this may be driven by scientific work with some serious limitations in reporting and methods. This highlights the need for fact-checking of circulating information about microplastics, but also for addressing the discordance between ecotoxicological risk and how risk is framed within the scientific community.

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Intimate Partner Violence and its Mental Health Implications Amid COVID-19 Lockdown: Findings Among Nigerian Couples

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/08862605211015213 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088626052110152

Author(s):

Margaret Isioma Ojeahere ◽

Sahmicit Kankemwa Kumswa ◽

Frances Adiukwu ◽

Janet Punyit Plang ◽

Yetunde Folake Taiwo

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Health Consequences ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Health Implications

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a global health problem with increasing mental health consequences. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Nigeria, couples were compelled to spend more time together, regardless of their pre-existing challenges. Our study aims to determine the prevalence of IPV, its forms, and mental health implications among Nigerian households amid the COVID-19 lockdown. A cross-sectional study was implemented which used the snowball sampling technique to recruit 474 participants across 31 states in Nigeria. A semi-structured online questionnaire was distributed using the WhatsApp platform. The relationship between IPV, its forms, and associated factors were analyzed using descriptive analysis and logistic regression with significant value at p ≤ .05 and confidence interval of 95%. Majority (98.1%) of the participants had at least a college degree and 90.1% were employed. Overall prevalence of IPV ranged from 7.2% to 13.5%. Using the lockdown as the landmark, higher prevalence was found before than during the lockdown across physical, emotional, financial, and sexual forms of IPV. Emotional form had the highest prevalence both before and during the lockdown with 11.4% and 3.8% respectively. Furthermore, 22.6% of participants reported that the lockdown affected their mental health. Hopelessness, feelings of failure, being irritable, and constantly under strain were psychological symptoms significantly associated with IPV amid the lockdown. Decreased prevalence of IPV were found in the early phase of the pandemic, suggesting that couples can experience less partner violence during periods of confinement. Our study supports existing evidence that forms of IPV have negative mental health consequences on abused partners.

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When rebuilding no longer means recovery: the stress of staying put after Hurricane Sandy

Climatic Change ◽

10.1007/s10584-021-03069-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 165 (3-4) ◽

Author(s):

Liz Koslov ◽

Alexis Merdjanoff ◽

Elana Sulakshana ◽

Eric Klinenberg

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Mental Health ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Social Economic ◽

Hurricane Sandy ◽

Flood Insurance ◽

Health Consequences ◽

The Usa ◽

Policy Shifts ◽

Post Disaster

AbstractAfter a disaster, it is common to equate repopulation and rebuilding with recovery. Numerous studies link post-disaster relocation to adverse social, economic, and health outcomes. However, there is a need to reconsider these relationships in light of accelerating climate change and associated social and policy shifts in the USA, including the rising cost of flood insurance, the challenge of obtaining aid to rebuild, and growing interest in “managed retreat” from places at greatest risk. This article presents data from a survey of individuals who opted either to rebuild in place or relocate with the help of a voluntary home buyout after Hurricane Sandy. Findings show those who lived in buyout-eligible areas and relocated were significantly less likely to report worsened stress than those who rebuilt in place. This suggests access to a government-supported voluntary relocation option may, under certain circumstances, lessen the negative mental health consequences associated with disaster-related housing damage.

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Breastfeeding and Mixed Feeding Practices in Malawi: Timing, Reasons, Decision Makers, and Child Health Consequences

Food and Nutrition Bulletin ◽

10.1177/156482650702800110 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 90-99 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Rachel Bezner Kerr ◽

Peter R. Berti ◽

Marko Chirwa

Keyword(s):

Child Health ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Mixed Feeding ◽

Health Consequences ◽

And Child Health

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How and when higher climate change risk perception promotes less climate change inaction

Journal of Cleaner Production ◽

10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128952 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 321 ◽

pp. 128952

Author(s):

Changcheng Wang ◽

Liuna Geng ◽

Julián D. Rodríguez-Casallas

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Risk Perception ◽

Climate Change Risk

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Perception of Risk, Self-Efficacy and Social Trust during the Diffusion of Covid-19 in Italy

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18073427 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 3427

Author(s):

Pierluigi Diotaiuti ◽

Giuseppe Valente ◽

Stefania Mancone ◽

Lavinia Falese ◽

Fernando Bellizzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Perception ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Social Trust ◽

Interpersonal Trust ◽

Central Area ◽

Perception Of Risk ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Perceived Trust ◽

Health Authorities

The Coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of people all over the world. The perception of risk and people’s consequent behaviour during a pandemic are very complex and are affected by multiple cultural and psychological factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the change in risk perception, perceived self-efficacy and the perceived trust in the behaviour of others, the decisions of health authorities and government provisions, as well as the variation of self-restraint behaviours during the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic in Italy. We used a convenience sample of 707 university students (Mage = 22.99; SD = 4.01) from a central area of Italy. Participants freely joined the research by answering an online questionnaire between February and March 2020. Three time intervals defined by the progressive containment measures implemented by the Italian Government were considered. Main outcome measures were the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, the Risk Perception Index, the Index of Self-restraint Behaviours, and Institutional and Interpersonal Trust Measures. Results confirmed that significant changes in the time progression have occurred in the perception of risk, in the perception of individual self-efficacy, in the value attributed to social responsibility, in interpersonal trust and in trust in health authorities. The study also identified the participants’ personality traits and locus of control as predictors (positive and negative) of perceived self-efficacy and tested a mediation model of trust on the effect of risk perception on self-restraint intentions.

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