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UNDERSTANDING RISK PERCEPTION IN ORDER TO MANAGE PUBLIC HEALTH RISKS. The Emotional Brain , Joseph LeDoux, Simon&Schuster, 1996. TRUST. Less Trust Business and Industry Politicians A process that’s closed More Trust Consumer groups Neutral experts A process that’s open. TRUST.
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UNDERSTANDING RISK PERCEPTION IN ORDER TO MANAGE PUBLIC HEALTH RISKS
TRUST Less Trust • Business and Industry • Politicians • A process that’s closed More Trust • Consumer groups • Neutral experts • A process that’s open
TRUST • In the communicator • In the organization that’s supposed to protect you • In the organization creating the risk • In the process
DREAD (More Afraid) • Anything associated with cancer (radiation, pesticides) • Plane Crash (Less Afraid) • Heart disease (# 1 cause of death in U.S.) • Motor vehicle crashes
ME or THEM • Terrorism to Americans in “The HoMEland” after September 11, 2001 • Will I get caught? Will I be in a crash?
NATURAL V. HUMAN-MADE (More Afraid) • Industrial chemicals • Technologies (GM food, nuclear power) (Less Afraid) • Organic food • Herbal remedies
BENEFIT vs. RISK Vaccinations Medical X rays Prescription drugs Drunk driving, speeding, texting/ talking on your mobile phone
CONTROL (More Afraid) • Riding as a passenger in the front seat of a motor vehicle. (Less Afraid) • Driving a motor vehicle, (drunk, aggressive driving, speeding, talking/texting
CHOICE(is the risk voluntary or imposed) (More Afraid) • That other ba_ _tard on the road driving drunk, aggressively, too slow in the high speed lane, talking/texting on their cell phone (Less Afraid) • YOU DOING ANY OF THOSE THINGS!
OPTIMISIM BIAS“It won’t happen to ME” We think we’ll be healthier, richer, happier, that our marriages will last longer, that careers will be more successful, and that we won’t be involved in a traffic crash, MORE THAN IS STATISTICALLY LIKELY.
AWARENESS (More Afraid) • Avian flu • Drunk driving or other traffic hazards with a high profile case in the news (Less Afraid) • “Regular” flu • Drunk driving or other traffic hazards with no news
The Relevance of Risk Perception to Public Safety • The Perception Gap can lead to real harms. • The risks that arise from people’s perceptions MUST be considered in policy making. • Understanding risk perception is a risk management tool for improving public health and safety.
Risk Communication (Ropeik) Actions, words, and other interactions that incorporate and respect the perceptions of the information recipients, intended to help people make more informed decisions about threats to their health and safety.
David RopeikConsultant in risk perception, risk communication, and risk managementdpr@dropeik.comwww.dropeik.com978 369-5675