Introduction: The mass print media are a widely-distributed, and often primary, source of health information for the public. Health information in newspapers can amplify or attenuate readers’ perceptions of risk depending on how it is presented. This thesis examines how health information related to wind energy was communicated in Ontario newspapers and includes separate analyses for the presence of fright factors, readability, emergent themes, and emotional tone and sensationalism. As an emerging technology, public understanding of and response to associated health risks and uncertainties towards wind energy can be influenced by media coverage. Methods: Five geographically discontinuous wind energy installations in Ontario and their surrounding communities were selected based on 2006 Canadian Census data. Newspapers serving each community were identified and searched for articles from May 2007-April 2011 on the topic of health effects from wind energy developments. A total of 421 articles from 13 community and 4 national/provincial newspapers were retrieved. In Study #1, a directed content analysis was used to develop a coding instrument based on fright factors known to affect the public’s perception of risk. In Study #2, each newspaper article was analyzed for text readability using the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) readability formula. In Study #3, and as a qualitative component, a semi-directed content analysis was used to find emerging themes and subthemes. Finally, in Study #4, a list of loaded and positive words, informed from previous studies on sensationalism in media reporting and a random sample of newspaper articles included in this study, and the frequency of their appearance was used as a quantitative measure of sensationalism. Results: Study #1: The most commonly reported fright factors were ‘dread’, ‘poorly understood by science’, ‘involuntary exposure’, and ‘inequitable distribution’, occurring in 94% (n=394), 58% (n=242), 45% (n=188), and 42% (n=177) of articles, respectively. The fright factors of ‘dread’, ‘poorly understood by science’, ‘inequitable distribution’, and ‘inescapable exposure’ occurred more frequently in community newspaper articles than in national/provincial ones (p<0.001). Although the total number of occurrences of each fright factor increased following the Green Energy Act, only ‘dread’ (p<0.05) and ‘poorly understood by science’ (p<0.01) increased significantly. Study #2: The mean reading grade level (RGL) of 421 articles on wind turbines and health was at the post-secondary education level (X±SEM; 13.3±0.1). Articles from community and provincial newspapers were written at almost a full RGL lower (13.2±0.2 and 13.1±0.2) than those from national newspapers (13.9±0.2) (p<0.05). Additionally, opinion pieces such as editorial columns were written at a lower RGL than fact-based news articles (13.0±0.2 and 13.5±0.1, respectively; p<0.01). Study #3: The majority of newspaper articles described health effects of wind turbines in general, rather than specific, terms. The most commonly cited causes of health complaints were inadequate setbacks (27%, n=114), noise (21%, n=90), shadow flicker and vibrations (12%, n=49), and electrical exposure (6%, n=27). Other, non-health concerns such as environmental damage (28%, n=117), property values (20%, n=86), aesthetic concerns (18%, n=77), financial burden (18%, n=74), were prevalent and juxtaposed with health issues in 28% of articles (n=118). Concerns with the quality and availability of scientific evidence were frequent in the newspaper articles (34%, n=143), with many articles promoting a moratorium on wind energy developments until further research is conducted (25%, n=103). Study #4: Newspaper articles emphasized negative rather than positive/neutral tone, with community newspapers publishing a higher proportion of negative articles than provincial or national newspapers (X2=6.11, df=1, p<0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that the health information related to wind turbines in Ontario newspapers contains a large quantity of fright factors that may produce fear and anxiety in readers, is written at a reading grade level that is too complex for the majority of the Ontario population to fully understand, contains inconsistent information on health effects that often links health concerns with non-health concerns, and is often negative in tone. The influence of the Ontario newspaper media on reader’s risk perceptions of wind energy in Ontario will be important to determine empirically.

The present project evaluates and examines a communication campaign carried out at the University of Durban-Westville (UDW) in 2003, which publicized the introduction of a HIV/AIDS Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) facility on campus. Drawing on theories 'of entertainment education (EE) and behaviour change, the campaign's effectiveness is analysed in relation to (1) audience reception; (2) take-up of the service promoted; and (3) visibility and penetration of the media employed. The thesis is that the message in campaigns of this nature benefits from avoiding claims of bringing about behaviour change by the mere fact of commurlication or information transfer. Instead, it is proposed that anti-H1V behaviour-change messages focus on urging audiences to act in presenting for VCT, because the ongoing counselling of VCT is a proper communicative forum for such changes. In conclusion, the present campaign's shortcomings are noted, and considered in the context of how to address these in relation to the opportunities offered by the merger ofUDW with the University of Natal from 2004. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal,Durban,2003.

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Little is known about the role of public health public information officers (PIOs) during public health emergencies. This study uses interpretative methods to learn about the organizational structures that facilitate and constrain emergency risk communication efforts during public health emergencies. Interpretive thematic comparative analysis of PIOs experiences and reflections about their involvement in the 2009-2010 H1N1 response will be used to illustrate how social interactions between and among PIOs, public health staff, and representatives from other agencies create implicit and explicit structures that facilitate and constrain emergency risk communication. The application of three specific concepts from structuration theory, namely, agent, duality of structure and institutionalized processes will be key in the exploration of the role of the PIO within the context of emergency planning and response. Participants in this study were individuals from Kentucky, North Dakota, New Jersey and California who served as a PIO during the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic influenza response. The study’s findings suggest that social interactions between organizational members, in addition to the organization of public health systems in each state, contribute to the similarities and differences in the enactment of the PIO role. Further, this study also suggests that the permeability of emergency response plans, another type of organizational structure, facilitate and constrain PIOs’ emergency risk communication efforts. Finally, this study also suggests that the involvement of PIOs in emergency planning and exercises impacts the types of relationships that are created and maintained before and during emergency responses.

Over the past few years, the rate of elective interventions in pregnancy in the United States, including elective inductions of labor and elective cesarean deliveries, has increased dramatically. While scholars attribute some of the increase in elective interventions to the female patients who request elective procedures from obstetricians, some literature contradicts that notion and suggests physicians are actually the primary perpetuators of the growth in elective procedures. Although pregnant women may seek elective interventions because of desired convenience, physicians can also claim the benefit of convenience in scheduling deliveries. In addition, elective procedures provide physicians greater monetary compensation than labor and deliveries which evolve without intervention. The current dissertation investigates the communicative role of obstetricians in women’s delivery decisions through in-depth interviews with obstetricians practicing in the state of Kentucky (N=28). Guided by the framework of Message Convergence, the study assesses how obstetricians manage uncertainty surrounding patient care and make clinical decisions in the midst of either unclear evidence or competing messages. The study also reveals the ways that physicians utilize their medical expertise to engage in decision-making with patients. In addition, specific scenarios of decision-making regarding delivery are discussed, including patients’ requests and physicians’ provisions of requests; patients’ requests and physicians’ refusals of requests; and physicians’ recommendations for treatment and patients’ refusals of recommendations for treatment. Finally, the internal tensions and conflicts experienced by physicians in the decision-making process with patients are also examined.

Nutrition interventions are an effective way to improve the dietary habits and lifestyle choices and reduce the risk of chronic disease. The Researchers in the UK-SRP Community Engagement Core develop nutrition programs for communities affected by environmental pollutants. Risk communication is a discipline that can be used to develop targeted nutrition interventions that will yield positive behavior change. The purpose of this study was to examine knowledge, risk perception, and actions concerning environmental pollutants and nutrition behavior. Data was collected using a modified survey instrument based on the validated Environmental Health Engagement Profile (EHEP). Survey participants from diverse regions of the state included 1) health educators; 2) residents from a nonmetropolitan-non-Appalachian area; 3) a nonmetropolitan-Appalachian area; and 4) a metropolitan area. Results indicated a significant, positive correlation in all four groups between perception of environmental pollutants in a person’s surroundings and the extent of concern that pollutants cause adverse health effects (p < 0.01). Recognizing that participants see a link between environmental pollutants and their health allows nutrition researchers to develop targeted, effective nutrition interventions. This information will be useful in the development of future nutrition programs to improve the health of Superfund communities.

Dagligen utsätts vi för en stor mängd kemikalier, som har visat sig vara mer eller mindre farliga. Många av dessa kemikalier har en negativ påverkan genom att förgifta miljön men också oss människor. Barn och foster är speciellt utsatta för skadliga kemikalier och främst hormonstörande kemikalier. Detta eftersom de befinner sig i ett kritiskt utvecklingsstadium från fostertiden fram till vuxen ålder. Idag fokuserar mycket av arbetet kring kemikalier på redan födda barn, men mycket lite eller inget arbete görs i förebyggande syfte för att skydda foster under graviditeten. Den yrkesgrupp som träffar gravida och ger råd kring graviditeten är barnmorskor. Därför syftar denna studie till att undersöka hur gravida och barnmorskor upplever kommunikationen mellan dem om skadliga kemikalier. Utöver upplevelsen undersöker också studien vilka hinder och möjligheter som finns för en god riskkommunikation mellan barnmorskor och gravida kring skadliga kemikalier. Det teoretiska perspektivet för uppsatsen är Ulrich Beck och hans teori om risksamhället samt teorier om riskkommunikation. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och metoderna som har använts är intervju och enkät. Intervjuer för att undersöka barnmorskornas upplevelser och enkäten var en internetbaserad enkät som har figurerat på ett socialt media (Facebook) för att få svar på gravidas upplevelser. Resultatet visar på flera hinder som barnmorskan upplever till exempel tidsbrist, brist på arbetsrutiner, riktlinjer och arbetsmaterial, okunskap och ett bristande intresse hos kollegor och organisation. Upplevda möjligheter är att frågan har börjat väckas. Det finns möjligheter till att utveckla arbetsrutiner och riktlinjer och att alla intervjuade barnmorskor är positiva till att frågan får mer utrymme. Upplevelsen av kommunikationen är bland annat att både barnmorskorna och gravida upplever att debatten och vetenskapen är svår att tolka, det finns en känsla av att det mesta utgör en risk samt att debatten och kommunikationen behöver nyanseras och få en vetenskaplig grund. Studiens slutsatser är att att dagens obefintliga riskkommunikation mellan gravida och barnmorskor bör utvecklas då både barnmorskor och gravida efterfrågar en kommunikation kring riskerna. / We are on a daily basis exposed to a large amount of chemicals that have been shown to be more or less dangerous. Many of these chemicals have a negative effect by poisoning the environment, but also humans. Children and fetuses are especially vulnerable to harmful chemicals and particularly endocrine disrupting chemicals. This is because they are in a critical stage of development from the fetal period to adulthood. Today, much of the work on chemicals are concentrate to already born children, but very little or no work is done as a preventive measure to protect the fetus during pregnancy. Midwives are the profession that meet the pregnant women continuously during the pregnancy and already informs the pregnant woman about different risks associated with the pregnancy. Therefore is the aim of this study to explore how pregnant women and midwives are experiencing their communication on harmful chemicals during pregnancy. In addition to the experience, is the aim to explore obstacles and opportunities that are needed for a good risk communication between midwives and pregnant women about harmful chemicals. The theoretical perspective of this paper is Beck and his "risk society" and theories of risk communication. The study has a qualitative approach and methods that have been used are interview and questionnaire. Interviews to explore midwives’ experiences and the survey were an online survey that has appeared on a social media (Facebook). The result indicates several obstacles that the midwife experience, for example: lack of time, lack of guidelines, work routines and working material. Ignorance and a lack of interest among colleagues and organization. Perceived opportunities are that the question has begun to be brought into action, there are opportunities to develop operating procedures and guidelines and that the interviewed midwives have a positive attitude to give the issue more space. The experience of the communication is that both the midwives and pregnant women perceive that the debate and the science is difficult to interpret, there is a sense that almost everything represents a risk and that the debate and the communication needs to be qualified and have a scientific basis. The study's conclusions are that today's non-existent risk communication between pregnant women and midwives should be developed as both midwives and pregnant women ask for a communication about the risks.

Goods that children come in contact with on a daily basis for example toys, electronics, textiles, household items, have attracted an increased attention in recent years because of a common occurrence of residues of potentially hazardous chemical substances. Some municipalities in Stockholm have developed plans for managing chemical risks and work systematically to phase out products containing hazardous substances. This thesis aims to contribute to an improved knowledge base for any future work with non-toxic nursery schools in Haninge. The study's focus is on the challenges encountered by conditions and problems of preschool personnel to manage chemical risks in early childhood environments. Primary data was collected through a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews with both the preschool staff and practitioners working in the central organization of the municipality. Identified key scientific studies and theories related to the concepts of risk management, risk perception and risk communication were used to put the results of the study in a larger context. A thematic analysis was then performed using developed indicators of effective risk management related to, for example, risk perception, accountability and internal and external risk communication. The results from this study show that most of the indicators of effective risk management are not met in the current situation. For example, the communication failure and pre-school staff's discretion is limited by budget, procurement contracts and imperfect knowledge while there is no routine monitoring work to follow up requirements associated with procurement. Haninge municipality can improve the pre-school staff conditions including setting higher standards in procurement, focus on communication and information, be clearer in its guidelines on hazardous chemicals in children's everyday lives and develop follow-up work around the requirements.

The study involved Indigenous communities of Saskatchewan and Alberta which are adversely impacted by industrial activities in their traditional territory. The overall goal of this study is: the assessment of social media in risk studies among Indigenous communities of western Canada. The methods used were: interviews, focus group discussion (FGD), and net-mapping. Results showed that the majority of youths communicated around risk using new social media (NSM) in event of risk outbreak, while Indigenous Elders, communicated face-to-face and via cell-phone. Results also showed that youths use Traditional Knowledge learnt from the Elders to understand Chronic wasting disease (CWD) risk, interpret, communicate and mobilize around mitigation. The study concluded that the use of NSM is becoming increasingly important for scoping information around wildlife decline and emergency in these Indigenous communities.

Effective risk communication is essential in the field of health to ensure patients understand the information being presented to them by medical professionals and appreciate the level of risk involved in treatments. Cardiovascular disease, being the leading cause of death worldwide, is relevant to consider when examining risk communication in a health setting. Those afflicted with cardiovascular ailments are both high in number and exposed to information communicating risk. This research aims to identify presentation formats that are more effective communicating risk information to recovering cardiovascular patients at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. The formats’ effectiveness is measured by gauging the population’s understanding of the material and perception of the information as it relates to risk and motivation. The research draws on Max Weber’s concept of rationality and subsequent scholars who developed social judgment theory, the heuristic-systematic model, expected utility theory, protection motivation theory, and the extended parallel process model. Utilizing an experimental research design, risk information handouts and questionnaires are distributed to, and completed by, a stratified sample of cardiovascular disease patients. Effective presentation formats are examined, and the results identify comparatively effective presentation formats for minimizing and maximizing risk perception. The results also identify presentation formats’ impact on a patient’s level of motivation to avoid / indulge in behaviours that may maximize or minimize risk. The results, synthesized herein, suggest a model (communicative cardiovascular physician-patient model of message preparation-perception), which may contribute to the effectiveness of risk communication between physicians and cardiovascular disease patients.