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Background Recent evidence suggests that climate change and other factors are leading to the emergence of Lyme disease in the province of Quebec, where it previously did not exist. As risk areas expand further north, the population can adopt specific preventive behaviors to limit chances of infection. The objectives of this study were to (1) create an index of Lyme disease prevention behaviors (LDPB), and (2) use the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explain the decision-making process of people who choose to adopt LDPB. Methods A sample of 1959 adults living in a Lyme disease risk area completed a questionnaire by phone ( n  = 1003) or on the Web ( n  = 956). The questionnaire measured whether they did or did not adopt the LDPB proposed by public health officials. It also measured some TPB variables, including their attitude or perceived social norms regarding LDPB. Results Our findings led to the creation of a Lyme disease prevention index consisting of 10 behaviors, down from the 19 behaviors initially considered for inclusion in the index. Rates of adoption of each behavior varied tremendously, from 4.30 to 83.80%. All variables of the TPB model (attitude, social norms, and perceived control) were significantly associated with intention to adopt preventive behaviors. Intention itself was significantly associated with adoption of LDPB. Likewise, risk perception was positively correlated with the adoption of LDPB. Conclusions This study led to the creation of a Lyme disease prevention index that can be used by public health agencies, researchers, and professionals to monitor the evolution over time of individuals’ LDPB adoption rates. It also showed the usefulness of the TPB in understanding the adoption of LDPB and how intention to adopt such behaviors is formed.

Background To monitor the adoption of climate change adaptive behaviors in the population, public health authorities have to conduct national surveys, which can help them target vulnerable subpopulations. To ensure reliable estimates of the adoption of these preventive behaviors, many data collection methods are offered by polling firms. The aim of this study was to compare a telephone survey with a web survey on Lyme disease with regard to their representativeness. Methods The data comes from a cross-sectional study conducted in the Province of Québec (Canada). In total, 1003 people completed the questionnaire by telephone and 956 filled in a web questionnaire. We compared the data obtained from both survey modes with the census data in regard to various demographic characteristics. We then compared the data from both samples in terms of self-reported Lyme disease preventive behaviors and other theoretically associated constructs. We also assessed the measurement invariance (equivalence) of the index of Lyme disease preventive behaviors across the telephone and web samples. Results Findings showed that neither the telephone nor the web panel modes of data collection can be considered more representative of the target population. The results showed that the proportion of item non-responses was significantly higher with the web questionnaire (5.6%) than with the telephone survey (1.3%), and that the magnitude of the differences between the two survey modes was nil for 19 out of the 30 items related to Lyme disease, and small for 11 of them. Results from invariance analyses confirmed the measurement invariance of an index of adaptation to Lyme disease, as well as the mean invariance across both samples. Conclusions Our results suggested that both samples provided similar estimates of the level of adaptation to Lyme disease preventive behaviors. In sum, the results of our study showed that neither survey mode was superior to the other. Thus, in studies where adaptation to climate change is monitored over time, using a web survey instead of a telephone survey could be more cost-effective, and researchers should consider doing so in future surveys on adaptation to climate. However, we recommend conducting a pretest study before deciding whether to use both survey modes or only one of them.

Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency and intensity of floods in the province of Quebec, Canada. Therefore, in 2015, to better monitor the level of adaptation to flooding of Quebec residents living in or near a flood-prone area, the Quebec Observatory of Adaptation to Climate Change developed five indices of adaptation to flooding, according to the chronology of events. The present study was conducted 4 years later and is a follow-up to the 2015 one. Two independent samples of 1951 (2015) and 974 (2019) individuals completed a questionnaire on their adoption (or non-adoption) of flood adaptation behaviors, their perception of the mental and physical impacts of flooding, and their knowledge of the fact that they lived in a flood-prone area. The results of the study demonstrated the measurement invariance of the five indices across two different samples of people over time, ensuring that the differences (or absence of differences) observed in flood-related adaptive behaviors between 2015 and 2019 were real and not due to measurement errors. They also showed that, overall, Quebeckers’ flood-related adaptive behaviors have not changed considerably since 2015, with adaptation scores being similar in 2019 for four of the five flood indices. Moreover, the results indicated an increase in self-reported physical and mental health issues related to past flooding events, as well as a larger proportion of people having consulted a health professional because of these problems. Thus, this study provides a better understanding of flood adaptation in Quebec over the past 4 years and confirms that the five adaptive behavior indices developed in 2015 are appropriate tools for monitoring changes in flood adaptation in the province. Finally, our results showed that little has changed in Quebeckers’ adoption of adaptive behaviors, highlighting the need for awareness raising in order to limit the impacts that climate change will have on the population.

The aim of this study is to identify which psychosocial factors of the theory of planned behavior better predict and explain the adoption of heat and flood adaptation behaviors by municipal authorities in the Province of Quebec, Canada, and to explore the cognitive structures motivating municipal officers to adopt adaptation behaviors. The results of structural equation analyses showed that municipal authorities’ attitude toward the adoption of adaptation behaviors (i.e., the degree to which the performance of an adaptive behavior is positively or negatively valued by municipal officers) and perceived control (barriers) over adaptation behaviors significantly contributed to the prediction of readiness to adopt the behavior.

The aim of this study is to document climate change adaptation interventions targeting Lyme disease at the municipal level in the province of Quebec (Canada). This exploratory study relies on the theory of planned behavior and certain constructs from the health belief model to identify the factors leading municipal authorities to implement preventive interventions for Lyme disease (PILD). Data were obtained from an online survey sent, during the summer of 2018, to municipal officers in 820 municipalities in Quebec, in all health regions where the population is at risk of contracting Lyme disease (response rate = 36%). The questionnaire was used to measure the implementation of PILD, the intention to implement these interventions, attitudes, perceived social pressure, perceived control (levers and barriers) over interventions, perceived effectiveness of preventive measures, risk, and perceived vulnerability. Results of structural equation analyses showed that attitudes were significantly associated with municipal authorities’ intention to implement PILD, while the intention to implement PILD was a significant predictor of the implementation of PILD. Additional analyses showed that perceived barriers added a moderating effect in the intention-implementation relationship. The prediction of behaviors or practices that municipal authorities could implement to prevent Lyme disease will enable the evaluation over time of the evolution of Quebec municipalities’ adaptation to Lyme disease. Moreover, the examination of the associations of specific psychosocial factors revealed important implications for the design of effective behavior-change interventions, which would allow health officials doing awareness work to create personalized interventions better suited to municipal officers and their specific contexts.

Lyme disease and other vector-borne diseases are on the rise because of climate change. In the province of Quebec, Canada, Lyme disease has become a public health problem deserving the attention of health authorities. Despite their recognized effectiveness at preventing tick-to-human transmission, rates of adoption of Lyme disease adaptive behaviours (LDAB) remain relatively low in the population. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the aim of this study is to identify specific and actionable beliefs associated with the adoption of Lyme disease adaptive behaviours. Specifically, 2,011 people were surveyed to determine the decision-making process behind specific beliefs, which could be targeted for raising awareness. Statistically significant associations were found between the three determinants of the TPB (i.e., attitudes, perceived social pressure and perceived behavioral control) and the intention to adapt. In addition, the intention itself was significantly associated with adopting LDAB. Belief-based analyses indicated that 8 primary beliefs (4 behavioral beliefs, 2 normative beliefs, and 2 control beliefs) were associated with LDAB. Among these, control beliefs (barriers and facilitating factors) appeared to have the greatest impact on adaptation. These findings can be used to guide educational and awareness-raising campaigns to promote LDAB by changing or reinforcing these primary beliefs.

Canadian plan sponsors cannot contemplate adopting a global portfolio without tackling the thorny issue of currency exposure. Before adopting a solution, it is important to understand the benchmark implications of currency exposure as well as to dispel a number of myths about active currency management. Currency exposure is desirable over the long run, because it helps reduce volatility without undermining returns while still constituting a sizeable tactical challenge for Canadian plan sponsors. Myths about active management include: 1. Currency exposure creates an asset-liability mismatch. 2. Managing currencies is too expensive. 3. Underlying stock and bond managers already take care of currencies. 4. Currency markets are too efficient to make money. 5. It is impossible to forecast currencies.

Considerable climatic variability on decadal to millennial timescales has been documented for the Holocene epoch. A reappraisal of estuarine and coastal sediment records reveals five periods of enhanced storminess during the past 6,500 years, at a frequency of approximately every 1,500 years and unrelated to solar irradiance variations. Considerable climatic variability on decadal to millennial timescales has been documented for the past 11,500 years of interglacial climate 1 , 2 , 3 . This variability has been particularly pronounced at a frequency of about 1,500 years, with repeated cold intervals in the North Atlantic 1 , 3 . However, there is growing evidence that these oscillations originate from a cluster of different spectral signatures 4 , ranging from a 2,500-year cycle throughout the period to a 1,000-year cycle during the earliest millennia. Here we present a reappraisal of high-energy estuarine and coastal sedimentary records from the southern coast of the English Channel, and report evidence for five distinct periods during the Holocene when storminess was enhanced during the past 6,500 years. We find that high storm activity occurred periodically with a frequency of about 1,500 years, closely related to cold and windy periods diagnosed earlier 1 , 2 , 3 . We show that millennial-scale storm extremes in northern Europe are phase-locked with the period of internal ocean variability in the North Atlantic of about 1,500 years 4 . However, no consistent correlation emerges between spectral maxima in records of storminess and solar irradiation. We conclude that solar activity changes are unlikely to be a primary forcing mechanism of millennial-scale variability in storminess.