Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS6A8, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA.
Prime Group, LLC, 888 16th St NW, Washington, DC, 20006, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2019 Aug 28;19(1):1079. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-7373-1.
Previous research suggests that providing generalized information about the health implications of air pollution from fossil fuels may be effective at promoting public support for a transition to cleaner sources of energy. We sought to extend that work by identifying the specific messages about the health implications of air pollution from fossil fuels that are most and least concerning to people, and whether rankings of concern vary among different audiences. We also hypothesized that reading the statements would influence people's attitudes and behavioral intentions in a manner supportive of a transition to cleaner sources of energy.
We conducted a survey with a diverse sample of U.S. adults (n = 1644) from a non-probability internet panel. Using maximum difference scaling, participants ranked a set of ten statements that revealed which statements were the most and least concerning to them. We also measured attitudes about air pollution and energy use before and after the ranking exercise to assess changes in opinion caused by cumulative exposure to the messages.
Across all sub-groups examined, participants were most concerned by a message about the neurological impacts of air pollution on babies and children. After the ranking exercise, participants expressed increases in perceived health harm of air pollution and fossil fuels, a desire for more clean energy, and intention to engage in consumer advocacy to support clean energy.
To our knowledge, this study is the first to assess how people respond to information about the neurological health harms of air pollution from fossil fuels. While efforts to communicate the cardio-pulmonary health harms of air pollution are well established, our study suggests that efforts should now be organized to communicate the neurological effects of air pollution from fossil fuels, especially the neuro-developmental effects on babies and children.
先前的研究表明，提供关于化石燃料空气污染对健康影响的一般性信息可能有助于促进公众支持向更清洁的能源过渡。我们试图通过确定人们最关心和最不关心的关于化石燃料空气污染对健康影响的具体信息，以及不同受众对关注程度的排名是否存在差异，来扩展这方面的工作。我们还假设，阅读这些声明将以支持向更清洁的能源过渡的方式影响人们的态度和行为意图。
我们对来自非概率互联网小组的美国成年人（n=1644）进行了一项具有多样性的调查。参与者使用最大差异标度对十项声明进行排名，这些声明揭示了哪些声明对他们来说最关心和最不关心。我们还在排名练习前后测量了对空气污染和能源使用的态度，以评估由于对信息的累积接触而导致的意见变化。
在所有检查的亚组中，参与者最关心的是一条关于空气污染对婴儿和儿童神经系统影响的信息。在排名练习之后，参与者表示对空气污染和化石燃料的健康危害的感知增加了，对更多清洁能源的渴望，以及参与消费者宣传以支持清洁能源的意愿。
据我们所知，这项研究是首次评估人们对关于化石燃料空气污染对神经系统健康危害的信息的反应。虽然已经有很多努力来传达空气污染对心肺健康的危害，但我们的研究表明，现在应该组织努力来传达化石燃料空气污染的神经系统影响，特别是对婴儿和儿童的神经发育影响。
