Kotcher John, Maibach Edward, Montoro Marybeth, Hassol Susan Joy
Center for Climate Change Communication George Mason University Fairfax VA USA.
Climate Communication, LLC Hillsborough NC USA.
Geohealth. 2018 Sep 24;2(9):262-275. doi: 10.1029/2018GH000154. eCollection 2018 Sep.
Americans tend to see global warming as a distant threat, but a small body of previous research suggests that information about the health implications of global warming may enhance public engagement with the issue. We sought to extend those findings with a longitudinal study that examined how Americans react to information about eight of health impacts from global warming. In winter 2017, we conducted a two-wave survey experiment using a quota sample of American adults ( = 2,254). Participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group who read eight brief essays about different categories of health impacts from global warming or to a control group who received no information. Participants answered questions before reading the essays, immediately after reading each essay and at the conclusion of all essays (treatment participants only), and 2-3 weeks later. Reading the information had small- to medium-sized effects on multiple indicators of participants' cognitive and affective engagement with global warming, especially among people who are politically moderate and somewhat conservative; some of these changes persisted 2-3 weeks later. Some impacts were seen as more novel and worrisome, including illnesses from contaminated food, water, and disease-carrying organisms. Our findings provide the most definitive evidence to date about the importance of raising awareness about the health impacts of global warming. While participants believed all of the essays as offered valuable information, educational efforts might most productively focus on impacts that are relatively less familiar and more emotionally engaging, such as food-, water-, and vector-borne illnesses.
美国人往往将全球变暖视为一种遥远的威胁，但此前的一小部分研究表明，有关全球变暖对健康影响的信息可能会增强公众对这一问题的关注。我们试图通过一项纵向研究来扩展这些发现，该研究考察了美国人对全球变暖八大健康影响信息的反应。2017年冬季，我们使用美国成年人的配额样本（n = 2254）进行了一项两阶段的调查实验。参与者被随机分配到一个处理组，该组阅读了八篇关于全球变暖不同类别健康影响的短文，或者被分配到一个对照组，该组没有收到任何信息。参与者在阅读短文前、阅读每篇短文后立即以及在所有短文结束后（仅处理组参与者）回答问题，以及在2至3周后回答问题。阅读这些信息对参与者在认知和情感上对全球变暖的参与度的多个指标产生了小到中等程度的影响，尤其是在政治立场温和和有点保守的人群中；其中一些变化在2至3周后仍然存在。一些影响被认为更新颖、更令人担忧，包括来自受污染食物、水和携带疾病生物的疾病。我们的研究结果提供了迄今为止关于提高对全球变暖健康影响认识的重要性的最确凿证据。虽然参与者认为所有短文都提供了有价值的信息，但教育努力可能最有效地集中在相对不太熟悉且更能引起情感共鸣的影响上，例如食物、水和媒介传播的疾病。
