Analyzes why and how initial support for a policy shifted over time, actions of government agencies and other stakeholders, and implications of decision-making processes. Impact of social, economic, and ethical concerns as well as biological considerations, implications of institutional mechanisms based on legislative processes, and ecological factors.
Information format can influence the extent to which target audiences understand and respond to risk‐related information. This study examined four elements of risk information presentation format. Using printed materials, we examined target audience perceptions about: (a) reading level; (b) use of diagrams vs. text; (c) commanding versus cajoling tone; and (d) use of qualitative vs. quantitative information presented in a risk ladder. We used the risk communication topic of human health concerns related to eating noncommercial Great Lakes fish affected by chemical contaminants. Results from the comparisons of specific communication formats indicated that multiple formats are required to meet the needs of a significant percent of anglers for three of the four format types examined. Advisory text should be reviewed to ensure the reading level is geared to abilities of the target audience. For many audiences, a combination of qualitative and quantitative information, and a combination of diagrams and text may be most effective. For most audiences, a cajoling rather than commanding tone better provides them with the information they need to make a decision about fish consumption. Segmenting audiences regarding information needs and communication formats may help clarify which approaches to take with each audience.
Natural resource management policies like the Pacific salmon harvest policy developed by New York State often did not anticipate the extent of social, economic, and ethical concerns that would be generated, largely because the agency concentrated on biological considerations. The number of concerned stakeholders grew in proportion to both the success and failure of the initial policy. Had all participants been equally willing to recognize both the successes and the failures, development of a revised policy through group negotiations may have been possible, resulting in a cooperative mode of decision making. Instead, institutional mechanisms based on legislated process were ultimately the approach chosen for policy revision.
Fish consumers may incur benefits and risks from eating fish. Health advisories issued by states, tribes, and other entities typically include advice about how to limit fish consumption or change other behaviors (e.g., fish cleaning or cooking) to reduce health risks from exposure to contaminants. Eating fish, however, may provide health benefits. Risk communicators and fish consumers have suggested the importance of including risk comparison information, as well as health risk‐benefit comparisons in health advisory communications. To improve understanding about how anglers fishing in waters affected by health advisories may respond to such risk‐risk or risk‐benefit information, we surveyed Lake Ontario (NY, USA) anglers. We interviewed by telephone 4,750 anglers, 2,593 of which had fished Lake Ontario in the past 12 months and were sent a detailed mail questionnaire (1,245 responded). We posed questions varying the magnitude of health risks and health benefits to be gained by fish consumption, and varied the population affected by these risks and benefits (anglers, children, women of childbearing age, and unborn children). Respondents were influenced by health benefit and health risk information. When risks were high, most respondents would eat less fish regardless of the benefit level. When risks were low, the magnitude of change in fish consumption was related to level of benefit. Responses differed depending on the question wording order, that is, whether "risks" were posed before "benefits." For a given risk‐benefit level, respondents would give different advice to women of childbearing age versus children, with more conservative advice (eat less fish) provided to women of childbearing age. Respondents appeared to be influenced more strongly by risk‐risk comparisons (e.g., risks from other foods vs. risks from fish) than by risk‐benefit comparisons (e.g., risks from fish vs. benefits from fish). Risk analysts and risk communicators should improve efforts to include risk‐risk and risk‐benefit comparisons in communication efforts, and to clarify to whom the health risks and benefits from fish consumption may accrue.
AbstractPast research has suggested that urban anglers are a group at high risk of being exposed to contaminants from fish consumption. Fish consumption advisories have been used in many regions to encourage healthy fish‐eating behaviors, but few studies have been designed to assess whether these advisories actually influence behavior as intended. We conducted a large‐scale, randomized experiment to test the influence of an advisory brochure on urban anglers' fish consumption. We collected detailed information on anglers' fish consumption in three urban counties in the Great Lakes region in the summers of 2014 and 2015. We provided a treatment group with fish consumption guidelines in an advisory brochure before the summer of 2015 and compared their change in fish consumption to a control group. The brochure led to a reduction in fish consumption for anglers who ate the most fish; these anglers reduced their consumption of high‐contaminant purchased fish (by ≥0.2 meals/summer for those in 72nd percentile of fish consumption or above), high‐contaminant sport‐caught fish (by ≥0.4 meals/summer for those in 87th percentile and above), and low‐contaminant sport‐caught fish (by ≥0.3 meals/summer by those in 76th percentile and above). The brochure also reduced sport‐caught fish consumption among those anglers who exceeded the advisories in 2014 (by 2.0 meals/summer). In addition, the brochure led to small increases in sport‐caught fish consumption (0.4–0.6 meals/summer) in urban anglers who ate very little sport‐caught fish (≤1 meal/summer).
AbstractAccurate estimates of the amount and type of fish people eat are necessary to determine the health benefits and risks of consuming fish, and to assess compliance with fish consumption guidelines issued for fish affected by chemical contaminants. We developed a web‐based and mobile‐phone‐enabled diary methodology to collect detailed fish consumption information for two 16‐week periods in the summers of 2014 and 2015. We recruited study participants from two populations living in the Great Lakes region—women of childbearing age (WCBA) and urban residents who had purchased fishing licenses. In this article, we describe the methodology in detail and provide evidence related to participation rates, the representativeness of our sample over time, and both convergent validity and reliability of the data collection methods. Overall, 56% of WCBA and 50% of urban anglers provided complete data across both data collection periods. Among those who provided information at the beginning of Year 2, 97% of both audiences provided information throughout the entire 16‐week period. Those who participated throughout the two‐year period were slightly older on average (1.9–2.5 years) than other members of our original samples. We conclude that using diaries with web and smartphone technology, combined with incentives and persistent communication, has strong potential for assessing fish consumption in other areas of the country or for situations where the potential risks associated with fish consumption are substantial and the cost can be justified.
Fish consumption advisories are issued by states, tribes, and federal agencies to provide guidance to consumers about eating sport‐caught fish potentially affected by chemical contaminants. Previous work has found that while anglers report being aware that advisories are available, awareness and use of specific advisory recommendations is low. This study uses the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction (IMBP) to identify beliefs with potential to increase intentions to follow fish consumption advisories in Great Lakes states. We conducted a mail survey of 1,712 licensed anglers in seven of eight Great Lakes states (excluding Ohio) to gauge advisory awareness, cognitive factors influencing fish consumption behaviors (informed by the IMBP), and sociodemographic characteristics. Results show that most anglers reported being generally or vaguely aware of fish consumption advisories and try to follow them, but far fewer report being aware of specific advice needed to decide whether or not to consume different types of sport‐caught fish. Informed by the IMBP, we also identify several behavioral, normative, and control beliefs that have sufficient room to change, strong associations with intentions to follow the advisories, and potential to be modified if targeted with strategic risk messages. Targeting these beliefs with strategic communication holds potential to increase the proportion of anglers intending to follow fish consumption advisory recommendations in choosing which fish to eat.
