Transcript risk perception and risk communication in occupational

Risk perception and
risk communication
in occupational health
Tjabe Smid
KLM health safety & environment
EMGO-Institute Free University Amsterdam
Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine
vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Personal experience
• As occupational and radiation hygienist,
• As safety advisor,
• In advising on environmental noise and safety (in a
‘political’ arena),
• In teaching HSE issues to students,
• In research on prevention of back pain,
• As project leader in a study into health complaints
among workers involved in salvage and cleanup after
an airplane crash.
Program
I. Why is risk communication increasingly important?
II. Risk perception
III. Risk communication
IV. Lessons (to be?) learned
I. Why risk communication is
important
• Increasing job demands and productivity
-> potentially conflicting with safety goals
• Increasing personal responsibilities through
empowerment
• Perceived risk is more important
• Less chemical and physical hazards
-> stress-related influences are more
important
Example:
Post …. syndromes
• After major disasters, war, etcetera
• With marginal chemical/physical risk
• Many health complaints
• Functional somatic syndromes:
– General, diffuse, common symptoms
– Explicit self-diagnoses
• Comparable to SBS, multiple chemical sensitivity
Functional somatic syndromes
• Symptoms somatic and psychological
• Fatigue, weakness, headache, sleep disturbances,
musculoskeletal, gastro-intestinal, skin complaints, respiratory
problems, fear and anxiety, depression
• Related to disaster AND AFTERMATH
• Mechanism: general symptoms attributed to disaster
• Or stress -> central nervous system effect -> immunologic
effects
• Communication is crucial!
Program
I. Why is risk communication increasingly important?
II. Risk perception
III. Risk communication
IV. Lessons (to be?) learned
II. Risk perception
• Experts and the public (workers) differ in their
perception of risk
• Experts try to evaluate risk using:
– Numbers and statistics
– Relative ranking
• The public (workers) evaluate and ranks risk
intuitively
• But there are patterns in risk perception
Intuition overestimates risk when:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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9.
10.
11.
The effect is larger (especially catastrophic)
Exposure is not voluntarily
Risk/effect is lesser known
Sensory perception is difficult
There is less personal control
Effects are long-term
Risk is man-made
Previous incidents have happened, (with victim identity)
Experts are not consistent
There is less confidence in people in control
There is more media attention
1. Larger effects
•
•
The risk of large scale accidents and catastrophes
is overestimated (plane vs. car accidents)
And large scale accidents appear to have more
psychological impact
2. Voluntary risks
• Voluntary risks are underestimated
• This factor may explain (among others) why workers
don’t wear PPD when it is not compulsory
3. Risk is less known
• Unfamiliar risk is overestimated
• I.e. chemical risk is considered more severe than
example falling, or back injuries
4. Sensory perception
• Difficult sensory perception leads to overestimation of
risk
• Because you have to rely on others for information
• I.e. radiation, or (odourless and invisible) asbestos
fibers in air
5. Less personal control
• Relates to 2. (voluntary risk)
• Perceived control leads to a less severe risk
perception
• 80 % of the Dutch consider their driving above
average
6. Long term effects
• Workers are more afraid of long term health effects,
than of short term effects
7. Man made risk
• Man made risks (chemical, nuclear) are perceived
more severe than for example lightning, storm, or
flooding
8. Previous accidents
• Especially when there is victim identity
• Victim identity can be brought through media
9. Experts are not consistent
• Or not perceived consistent
• Internet information is also considered expert opinion
10 Less confidence in people
responsible for control and
information
• Especially when risk is not familiar, not known, not
sensory perceived, people have to rely on others for
their information
11. Media attention
• Last but not least!
Examples
1999: KLM has transported a package of nuclear medical material.
The package leaked small amounts of radioactive radiation. The
maximum estimated dose for crew was 1 % of the total allowed
annual dose. The shipper reported it two months later, and
simultaneously it was published in national newspapers and
television. Workers (and passengers) were very upset about this
(in terms of radiation) minor incident, and it lead to a total ban on
radioactive cargo
Vs. the most recent deadly accident in KLM ground staff was
around 1985, when a worker fell from a platform in maintenance.
Falls occur more often, are are considered a major risk by safety
experts
Radiation incident
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The effect is larger (especially catastrophic) Exposure is not voluntarily ++
Risk/effect is lesser known +
Sensory perception is difficult +++
There is less personal control ++
Effects are long-term +++
Risk is man-made +++
Previous incidents have happened, (with victim identity) +/Experts are not consistent + (internet)
There is less confidence in people in control ++ (2 months lag)
There is more media attention ++++
Falls in maintenance
1.
2.
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The effect is larger (especially catastrophic) + / - Exposure is not voluntarily - / +
Risk/effect is lesser known - - Sensory perception is difficult There is less personal control - - Effects are long-term - - Risk is man-made -/+
Previous incidents have happened, (with victim identity) +
Experts are not consistent - - There is less confidence in people in control - There is more media attention - - -
Program
I. Why is risk communication increasingly important?
II. Risk perception
III. Risk communication
IV. Lessons (to be?) learned
III. Risk communication
There is no standard risk communication !
Risk communication
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Know your target group(s)
Know your goal
Know the expectations
Be trustworthy
The message should be unequivocal
Be timely
Be open and transparent
Be consistent
Keep the initiative
1. Know your target group
• I.e.
– Workers involved
• Victims
• Others
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Uninvolved workers
Their representatives
Their management
Third parties (among others media)
2. Know your goal
• May be different for different target groups
• Transfer of information is not the goal
• But is used for for example:
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Safe behaviour
Prevention of stress: reassurance
Compliance
Prevention of reliability
Know your goal (2)
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Knowledge
Skills
Attitudes
Behaviour
3. Know the expectations
• What, how, when does the target group needs
information
• Consider perception, culture
• I.e. symptoms are somatic in Functional somatic
syndromes
• Know your role as perceived by the target group
4. Be trustworthy
• Workers know about risk from others
• The criterion is confidence rather then ratio
• External factors are your
– Position
– Age
– Gender
5. The message should be
unequivocal
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Not too many details
Emphasize what is known
Coordinate different speakers
Know that your perception of competence may differ
from that of your target group (‘The American
professor’)
6/7/8. Be timely, consistent and
transparent
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Total transparency and openness
Is not a goal but instrumental
Example: asbestos in buildings
Never keep something ‘under the hat’ that may
escape
9. Keep the initiative
• By keeping the initiative, the agenda can be set
• Latent disturbances can evolve any moment
Program
I. Why is risk communication increasingly important?
II. Risk perception
III. Risk communication
IV. Lessons (to be?) learned
IV Lessons (to be) learned
• Risk perception shows a consistent pattern
• Recognition of this phenomenon among professionals is
marginal
• But individuals may be very different from each other.
• Knowing the perspective of the worker is very important (on your
role an contents of the message)
• There is more then an expert role for professionals
• After incidents: give information on causes and circumstances
• Take health complaints serious
• Communicate on group level, but also on individual level
Thank you.
Any questions?