National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Koganei, Japan.
Front Public Health. 2024 Sep 4;12:1438986. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1438986. eCollection 2024.
Radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) are utilized in communications and appliances and are indispensable in daily life. However, some people have concerns about the adverse health effects of RF-EMFs; therefore, effective risk communication (RC) is needed in this field.
In this study, we investigate public attitudes towards RF-EMFs and examine the impact of RC via a website on these attitudes and objective knowledge.
Three web surveys were conducted over 10 weeks with the same participants. The questionnaires were conducted at three different time points with 5-week intervals: baseline survey (T1), RC evaluation survey (T2), and follow-up survey (T3). Participants of T2 were randomly recruited from among those of T1, and participants of T3 were randomly selected from among the T2 respondents. Approximately half of the respondents in each of T2 and T3 were assigned to the control group. Twelve items regarding attitudes toward RF-EMFs and objective knowledge were evaluated in all surveys (T1-T3). After removing low-engagement data, the number of valid answers was 782 in T3. Differences between T1 and T2 (Sub T1-T2) and T1 and T3 (Sub T1-T3) were analyzed. Participant selection was randomized and the authors were blind to this selection until analysis.
Four clusters were identified: Cluster 1 (Non-anxious, 25.0%), Cluster 2 (Anxious, 16.0%), Cluster 3 (Low-interest, 40.5%), and Cluster 4 (High-interest, 18.5%). A decrease in subjective RF-EMF exposure levels was noted in Cluster 2 immediately after website viewing. Temporary increases and decreases in health concerns about RF-EMF usage activities were observed in Clusters 1 and 2, respectively, immediately after viewing. Clusters 1 and 3 showed a temporal decrease in needs for RF-EMF usage activities at T2 but it returned to the baseline level 5 weeks later. Cluster 4 was less responsive to the risk communication. Subanalysis stratified by gender and age showed fluctuations in responses, especially in Clusters 1 and 2.
We demonstrate the effectiveness of RF-EMF risk communication via websites, particularly for Cluster 2. The results of this study showed that offering objective and comprehensible information through a website can significantly reduce concerns and perceived risks related to RF-EMFs.
射频电磁场（RF-EMF）用于通信和电器，在日常生活中不可或缺。然而，有些人对 RF-EMF 的不良健康影响表示担忧，因此该领域需要进行有效的风险沟通（RC）。
本研究旨在调查公众对 RF-EMF 的态度，并通过网站评估 RC 对这些态度和客观知识的影响。
在 10 周内进行了 3 次网络调查，使用相同的参与者。问卷在三个不同的时间点进行，间隔 5 周：基线调查（T1）、RC 评估调查（T2）和随访调查（T3）。T2 的参与者是从 T1 中随机招募的，T3 的参与者是从 T2 的受访者中随机选择的。T2 和 T3 中的大约一半参与者被分配到对照组。所有调查（T1-T3）都评估了 12 项对 RF-EMF 的态度和客观知识项目。在去除低参与度数据后，T3 的有效答案数量为 782。分析了 T1 和 T2（Sub T1-T2）以及 T1 和 T3（Sub T1-T3）之间的差异。参与者的选择是随机的，作者在分析之前对此选择并不知情。
确定了 4 个聚类：聚类 1（非焦虑，25.0%）、聚类 2（焦虑，16.0%）、聚类 3（低兴趣，40.5%）和聚类 4（高兴趣，18.5%）。在网站浏览后，聚类 2 中立即观察到主观 RF-EMF 暴露水平降低。在网站浏览后，聚类 1 和 2 中分别观察到对 RF-EMF 使用活动的健康关注度暂时增加和减少。聚类 1 和 3 在 T2 时显示出对 RF-EMF 使用活动的需求随时间减少，但 5 周后恢复到基线水平。聚类 4 对风险沟通的反应较小。按性别和年龄分层的亚分析显示，尤其是聚类 1 和 2，反应波动较大。
我们通过网站展示了 RF-EMF 风险沟通的有效性，特别是对聚类 2。本研究结果表明，通过网站提供客观和易于理解的信息，可以显著降低与 RF-EMF 相关的担忧和感知风险。
