Recorded presentation

Dolores J. Severtson, MS, RN, School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 600 Highland Avenue, K6/380 CSC, Madison, WI 53792, (608) 263-5315, djsevert@students.wisc.edu and Linda C. Baumann, PhD, RN, FAAN, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Nursing, K6/342 Clinical Science Center, 600 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53792.

We sought to understand how experiential and external sources of risk information influence behavior to reduce arsenic exposure and influence policy opinions about reducing arsenic in the environment through different dimensions of personal risk representations. We applied the common sense model (CSM) that illustrates how people process information to construct representations that guide responses to health threats. Increasing arsenic levels (from aquifer minerals) were attributed to decreasing groundwater levels. Measured public policy opinions included reducing private well construction and refusing high water use industries. Of 649 surveys mailed to private well users with levels over the arsenic drinking water standard, 84% were suitable for analysis. Structural equation modeling quantified CSM-based relationships and fit the data with behavioral outcomes (RMSEA=.041) or policy outcomes (RMSEA=.039). Models explained 52% and 55% of the variance in behavior and policy opinions respectively. External information sources had their greatest effect on behavior through certainty about arsenic knowledge and control methods, and on policy opinion through understanding environmental causes. Experiential information had its greatest effect on behavior through the emotional representation, health and property value consequences, and understanding exposure identity and causes. Experiential and external sources of information influenced behavior while external information was the dominant influence on policy opinion. Understanding environmental arsenic causes played no role in influencing behavior and the dominant role in influencing policy opinions. People need to understand how to identify, causes and consequences of, and how to control both risk exposure and risk in the environment to foster comprehensive environmental health prevention.

Learning Objectives:

• Attendees understand how experiential and external sources of information influence protective behavior and support for source reduction policy through different dimensions of risk representations.
• Attendees understand elements of information needed to promote a comprehensive approach to environmental health prevention.

Keywords: Environmental Health, Health Communications

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation