Commentary on hormesis and public risk communication: is there a basis for public discussions?

2003 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Flynn ◽  
Donald MacGregor
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Threshold Model ◽  
Exposure Model ◽  
Social Good ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
Public Risk ◽  
The Impact

Research on radiation exposure is now focusing on microbiology and the impact of low dose exposures on cells and cell components. Eventually, this research may provide evidence to support changes in the models used to regulate human and environmental exposures. Currently, three models using older research results are subjects of interest and comparison. The linear no threshold model, the most restrictive on behalf of public health values, dominates regulatory decision making. Alternative models (i.e., the threshold model and the hormesis model) could reduce costs of radiation management, depending upon new research results and public acceptance. Enacting a new public exposure model is a daunting task for risk communication given existing public risk perceptions and the established public decision-making processes. Each of the three prominent models must answer the question, ‘what social good requires the use of this model in contrast to the others?’

scholarly journals The Impact of Health Risk Communication: A Study on the Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika Epidemics in Curaçao, Analyzed by the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF)

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110078
Author(s):  
Milou J. F. van Goudoever ◽  
Vaitiare I. C. Mulderij-Jansen ◽  
Ashley J. Duits ◽  
Adriana Tami ◽  
Izzy I. Gerstenbluth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Communication ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Social Amplification Of Risk ◽  
Vector Borne Diseases ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Risk Framework ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Risk Reducing

Epidemics of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika have been threatening the Caribbean. Since risk communication (RC) plays a fundamental role in preventing and controlling diseases understanding how RC works is essential for enabling risk-reducing behavior. This multimethod qualitative study compares news reports with local’s and health professional’s perspectives, currently lacking in RC research. It was found that RC strategies were obstructed by a lack of governmental structure, organization, and communication. The content analysis showed that the majority of newspaper articles contained negative reporting on the government. Furthermore, this study shows how trust and heuristics attenuate or amplify people’s risk perceptions and possibly positively and negatively influence people’s risk-reducing behavior. A transcending approach (e.g., structural, cooperative, and multidisciplinary) of the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases and the corresponding RC is recommended.

scholarly journals Risk Perceptions during COVID-19 Pandemic: Applying Knowledge on Public Compliance to Protective Measures during SARS to Understand Risk Communication

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. p1
Author(s):  
Xingrui Chen
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Pharmaceutical Treatment ◽  
Protective Measures ◽  
Confidence Levels ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Public Risk

The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 has caused significant environmental and economic loss across the globe. The government’s promotion of non-pharmaceutical treatment such as social distancing, hand washing, and mask-wearing can be equally important in disease control compared to the conventional use of pharmaceutical treatment. Risk perception is often used as an important mechanism to understand an individual's compliance with these protective measures. The present article examines the application of previous knowledge about public risk perception, decision making, and behavioral change to the current global pandemic and evaluates the most effective way of governmental messaging. The article analyzes empirical research conducted during COVID-19 across the globe where risk perception is found to be a strong determinant of people’s adoption of public health behavior. Demographic factors can significantly alter people’s understanding of risk due to the variation of individualistic view and prosociality of each nation. Cognitive biases can also affect people’s efficacy beliefs and confidence levels in government which can shape their risk perception to a great extent as well. Combining studies on both SARS and COVID-19, we are able to employ past knowledge to draw conclusions on risk communication and governmental promotion of protective measures during the current global pandemic.

Worry and Rumination as a Consideration When Designing Health and Risk Messages

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara D. Afifi ◽  
Ariana Shahnazi ◽  
Kathryn Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Relational Health ◽  
Positive Rumination ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health Diagnosis

Rumination is typically thought of as pessimistic, repetitive thinking or mulling that is deleterious for one’s health. Rumination, however, can take several forms and is not always harmful. In fact, it could actually be helpful in certain circumstances. It is common and often helpful when something stressful happens, like a health scare or problematic health diagnosis, for people to ponder or reflect on why it happened and brainstorm potential solutions to it. This is referred to as reflective rumination. Rumination affects people’s risk perceptions related to their personal and relational health and decision-making about their health. Research on negative rumination and health and positive rumination and health focuses on the impact of these patterns of thinking on health outcomes such as mental health, physical health, and relational health and as perceptions of health messages and risk likelihood.

scholarly journals Tracking the Differentiation of Risk: The Impact of Subject Framing in CDC Communication Regarding COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-100
Author(s):  
Kathryn Lambrecht
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Important Decision ◽  
Public Risk ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Centers For Disease Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Communicating Risk ◽  
Decision Making Tool

Communicating risk amid moments of scientific ambiguity requires balance: Overdelivering certainty levels can cause undue alarm whereas underdelivering them can lead to increased public risk. Despite this complexity, risk assessment is an important decision-making tool. This article analyzes the circulation of the term “risk” in a corpus (74,804 words) of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention communications regarding COVID-19 from January 1 to April 30, 2020. Tracking collocations of the 147 instances of risk in this corpus reveals that experts initially framed risk away from individuals, complicating people’s differentiation between public and personal impacts. Recommendations are offered for how institutions can reframe subjectivity to promote vigilance during pandemics.

scholarly journals Stars—They’re Sick Like Us! The Effects of a Celebrity Exemplar on COVID-19-Related Risk Cognitions, Emotions, and Preventative Behavioral Intentions

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 724-741
Author(s):  
Elizabeth L. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Preventive Behavior ◽  
Online Experiment ◽  
Related Risk ◽  
Public Risk ◽  
Mere Presence ◽  
Affective Heuristic

Research on exemplification suggests that celebrity health exemplars can exert a greater influence on public risk perceptions than exemplars featuring noncelebrities. In the aftermath of actor Tom Hanks’s announcement that he tested positive for COVID-19, an online experiment compared the effects of his exemplar to an identical noncelebrity exemplar. Hanks’s disclosure increased perceptions of susceptibility to the virus. The celebrity exemplar also increased anxiety, which increased intentions to engage in preventive behavior. These findings suggest that the mere presence of celebrity might function as a cognitive and affective heuristic that guides risk-related assessment and decision making.

The impact of personal genomics on risk perceptions and medical decision-making

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 912-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua L Krieger ◽  
Fiona Murray ◽  
J Scott Roberts ◽  
Robert C Green
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Medical Decision Making ◽  
Medical Decision ◽  
Personal Genomics ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Relations between risk attitudes, culture and the endowment effect

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 7-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Kolnhofer Derecskei
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Risk Preferences ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Risk Attitudes ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The main purpose of this research was to examine whether systematic cross-national differences existed in risk preferences. As a part of the survey, it was also tested how the subjects decided on behalf of their friends. Considering the type of risk-taking and the role of endowment plus relevant cultural backgrounds, the answerers were grouped, and each segment could be identified. Finally, this segmentation could be correlated with behaviour in risk decisions. Here, the Allais situation was used testing respondent behaviour in risky decision-making on behalf of others. This paper used the validated DOSPERT Scale, measuring risk perceptions and risk preferences of international students (n=244). The used survey contained different risk attitudes depending on decision making and involved the following criteria: Ethical, Financial, Health or Safety, Recreational, and Social Risks. Applying the DOSPERT Scale, differences were also found between ‘Risk-Taking’, ‘Risk-Perceptions’, and ‘Expected Benefits’. This result can be explained by different risk attitudes particular to people making decisions involving measured risks. At the same time, thanks to the worldwide sample, this paper focused on cultural differences and observed the impact of different cultural backgrounds on risk-taking. Comparing personal traits with Hofstede’s cultural UAI (Uncertainty Avoidance Index) helped us understand deeper cultural influences. The sample was widely heterogeneous, which led to some changes in the original research question and provided a new method in the conceptual model. Based on the state of the art, a conceptual model was deduced, three hypotheses were tested, and three various segments were identified regarding the personal DOSPERT (Domain-Specific Risk-Taking Scale) Risk Preferences. In the second part of the paper, Personal Risk Preferences were connected and tested not only using the national culture background but also attitudes towards the endowment. Although there was no significant correlation between the distribution of risk perception, the styles of each role might show how the cultural heritage impacts various decisions and risk levels.

scholarly journals Risk and Income Evaluation Decision Model of PPP Project Based on Fuzzy Borda Method

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Longbo Du ◽  
Jing Gao
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Risk Sharing ◽  
Investment Risk ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Effect Theory ◽  
Project Risks ◽  
Project Participants ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

In order to effectively analyze the risk-return decision-making model of PPP project by Yuan et al., (2020) this paper, based on the fuzzy Borda method and synergy effect theory, considers the synergistic effect of PPP project, constructs the model of investment risk sharing, incentive, and supervision punishment, and determines the investment risk sharing, incentive, and PPP project investment. This paper also aims to supervise and punish the decision-making mechanism to achieve the goals of the PPP project. The research results show that the increased synergy of project participants not only reduces the impact of investment risk on project revenue but also promotes project participants to increase their willingness to undertake risks, actively undertake project risks, and achieve synergy effects of PPP projects. Through the cooperation of both parties, the total income of PPP projects is increased. The research results show that the government chooses social capital participants with complementary advantages to form synergy as shown by Jiang et al. (2016); with the increase of synergy, the government needs to increase the incentive intensity, improve the performance behavior of social capital participants as proposed by Junlong et al. (2020), curb their speculation, and promote the two sides. Due to the increased synergy and the willingness of social capital participants to increase cooperation and reduce speculation, the government should reduce the intensity of supervision and punishment.

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