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When the novel coronavirus entered the US, most US states implemented lockdown measures. In April—May 2020, state governments started political discussions about whether it would be worth the risk to reduce protective measures. In a highly politicized environment, risk perceptions and preferences for risk mitigation may vary by political inclinations. In April—May 2020, we surveyed a nationally representative sample of 5517 members of the University of Southern California's Understanding America Study. Of those, 37% identified as Democrats, 32% as Republican, and 31% as Third Party/Independent. Overall, Democrats perceived more risk associated with COVID-19 than Republicans, including for getting infected, being hospitalized and dying if infected, as well as running out of money as a result of the pandemic. Democrats were also more likely than Republicans to express concerns that states would lift economic restrictions too quickly, and to report mask use and social distancing. Generally, participants who identified as Third Party/Independent fell in between. Democrats were more likely to report watching MSNBC or CNN (vs. not), while Republicans were more likely to report watching Fox News (vs. not), and Third Party/Independents tended to watch neither. However, political inclinations predicted reported policy preferences, mask use, and social distancing, in analyses that accounted for differences in use of media sources, risk perceptions, and demographic background. In these analyses, participants' reported media use added to the partisan divide in preferences for the timing of lifting economic restrictions and reported protective behaviors. Implications for risk communication are discussed.

Background The SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics have been greatly modulated by human contact behaviour. To curb the spread of the virus, global efforts focused on implementing both Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) and pharmaceutical interventions such as vaccination. This study was conducted to explore the influence of COVID-19 vaccination status and risk perceptions related to SARS-CoV-2 on the number of social contacts of individuals in 16 European countries. Methods We used data from longitudinal surveys conducted in the 16 European countries to measure social contact behaviour in the course of the pandemic. The data consisted of representative panels of participants in terms of gender, age and region of residence in each country. The surveys were conducted in several rounds between December 2020 and September 2021 and comprised of 29,292 participants providing a total of 111,103 completed surveys. We employed a multilevel generalized linear mixed effects model to explore the influence of risk perceptions and COVID-19 vaccination status on the number of social contacts of individuals. Results The results indicated that perceived severity played a significant role in social contact behaviour during the pandemic after controlling for other variables ( p -value < 0.001). More specifically, participants who had low or neutral levels of perceived severity reported 1.25 (95% Confidence intervals (CI) 1.13 - 1.37) and 1.10 (95% CI 1.00 - 1.21) times more contacts compared to those who perceived COVID-19 to be a serious illness, respectively. Additionally, vaccination status was also a significant predictor of contacts ( p -value < 0.001), with vaccinated individuals reporting 1.31 (95% CI 1.23 - 1.39) times higher number of contacts than the non-vaccinated. Furthermore, individual-level factors played a more substantial role in influencing contact behaviour than country-level factors. Conclusion Our multi-country study yields significant insights on the importance of risk perceptions and vaccination in behavioral changes during a pandemic emergency. The apparent increase in social contact behaviour following vaccination would require urgent intervention in the event of emergence of an immune escaping variant.

A growing body of research indicates that effective science-policy interactions demand novel approaches, especially in policy domains with long time horizons like climate change. Serious games offer promising opportunities in this regard, but empirical research on game effects and games’ effectiveness in supporting science-policy engagement remains limited. We investigated the effects of a role-playing simulation game on risk perceptions associated with climate tipping points among a knowledgeable and engaged audience of non-governmental observers of the international climate negotiations and scientists. We analysed its effects on concern, perceived seriousness, perceived likelihood and psychological distance of tipping points, using pre- and post-game surveys, debriefing questions and game observations. Our findings suggest that the game reduced the psychological distance of tipping points, rendering them more ‘real’, proximate and tangible for participants. More generally, our findings indicate that role-playing simulation games, depending on their design and future orientation, can provide effective science-policy engagement tools that allow players to engage in future thinking and corresponding meaning making.

Understanding the risk perceptions of the public is central for risk communications and infodemic management during emergency and preparedness planning as people’s behavior depends on how they perceive the related risks. This qualitative study aimed to identify and describe factors related to COVID-19 risk perceptions of the public in Finland and to make this information readily available to those who communicate with the public during crises. The study is part of a larger project exploring crisis narratives through a mixed-methods approach. The study was based on a dataset of over 10,000 comments on the Facebook and Twitter posts of the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) between March-May 2021. The data were analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis. The study identified concepts linked with the pandemic risk perception that included knowledge, perceptions, personal experiences, trust, attitudes, and cultural values. The findings resulted in a framework of risk perceptions that can be used as taxonomy and a set of key concepts and keywords in social listening to monitor risk perception during future epidemics and pandemics.

BackgroundCigarette smoking is a risk factor for severe COVID-19 disease. Understanding smokers’ responses to the pandemic will help assess its public health impact and inform future public health and provider messages to smokers.ObjectiveTo assess risk perceptions and change in tobacco use among current and former smokers during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignCross-sectional survey conducted in May–July 2020 (55% response rate)Participants694 current and former daily smokers (mean age 53, 40% male, 78% white) who had been hospitalized pre-COVID-19 and enrolled into a smoking cessation clinical trial at hospitals in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.Main MeasuresPerceived risk of COVID-19 due to tobacco use; changes in tobacco consumption and interest in quitting tobacco use; self-reported quitting and relapse since January 2020.Key Results68% (95% CI, 65–72%) of respondents believed that smoking increases the risk of contracting COVID-19 or having a more severe case. In adjusted analyses, perceived risk was higher in Massachusetts where COVID-19 had already surged than in Pennsylvania and Tennessee which were pre-surge during survey administration (AOR 1.56, 95% CI, 1.07–2.28). Higher perceived COVID-19 risk was associated with increased interest in quitting smoking (AOR 1.72, 95% CI 1.01–2.92). During the pandemic, 32% (95% CI, 27–37%) of smokers increased, 37% (95% CI, 33–42%) decreased, and 31% (95% CI, 26–35%) did not change their cigarette consumption. Increased smoking was associated with higher perceived stress (AOR 1.49, 95% CI 1.16–1.91). Overall, 11% (95% CI, 8–14%) of respondents who smoked in January 2020 (pre-COVID-19) had quit smoking at survey (mean, 6 months later) while 28% (95% CI, 22–34%) of former smokers relapsed. Higher perceived COVID-19 risk was associated with higher odds of quitting and lower odds of relapse.ConclusionsMost smokers believed that smoking increased COVID-19 risk. Smokers’ responses to the pandemic varied, with increased smoking related to stress and increased quitting associated with perceived COVID-19 vulnerability.

Global warming will disproportionately affect people of color (e.g., Latinos). Previous research has found that Latinos in the USA are more engaged with global warming than are non-Latino Whites, in part, because they are more likely to perceive it as a serious risk. It was unclear, however, what factors most strongly explain Latinos’ elevated perceptions of risk. This study uses two parallel, nationally representative surveys of Latino and non-Latino White Americans to investigate these different levels of risk perception. Mediation analyses indicate that Latinos’ greater risk perceptions may be explained by (in order of magnitude) their stronger pro-climate injunctive social norms and egalitarian worldviews, stronger identification with the Democratic party, more frequent communication with family outside the USA, greater harm from environmental hazards, stronger descriptive norms, and a weaker individualist worldview. These findings help inform strategies for communicating with different subgroups of Americans that have different global warming risk perceptions.

Mixed evidence exists regarding the relationship between environmental risk perception and pro-environmental behavior. This study uses an existing online survey conducted by the Center of Ecological Civilization (CEC) of China University of Geosciences from December 2015 to March 2016 and examines how cultural bias influences environmental risk perception and behavior. We found that an individual’s pro-environmental behavior is not only influenced by environmental risk perception, but also by his or her cultural worldviews. Built on culture theory (CT), our empirical results suggest that young Chinese people are more located in “high-group” culture, where egalitarian culture and hierarchical culture dominate. The higher scores of hierarchical and egalitarian cultures of Chinese youth, the more likely they are to protect the environment. Moreover, the relationship between cultural worldviews and pro-environmental behaviors are mediated by perceived environmental risks.

Agriculture sector is uncertain and susceptible to climatic risks. Farmer’s risk attitude and risk perceptions play important roles in managing the risks at farm level. Precise and timely risk perception may help to evaluate the incidence and severity of risks while farmers’ attitude determines the response of the farmers toward risk. Therefore, farmers’ risk attitude and perceptions are significant in farmers’ decision-making during the uncertain conditions. The present study was designed to examine the farmers’ risk attitude and risk perceptions related to climatic factors. The study also focused on socioeconomic factors affecting the farmers’ risk attitude and risk perceptions. The study was conducted in three districts of Punjab such as Bahawalpur, Layyah and Rahim Yar Khan. Using a multistage sampling technique, a sample of 382 respondents was interviewed from all districts. The study employed the Equally Likely Certainty Equivalent and Cubic Utility Function to assess the risk attitude. Risk matrix was used to estimate the risk perceptions related to climate factors. The study used probit model to analyze the factors affecting the risk attitude and risk perceptions among farmers. Findings of the study indicate that most of the farmers have risk averse behavior. Farmers perceive rise in temperature as high risk followed by erratic rains, wind storms and pest breakouts. The results show that farmer’s age, education, farming experience and off-farm income significantly determine the farmers’ risk attitude and perceptions. The study results will be helpful for policy makers and researchers to design risk management strategies.

Behavioral responses influence the trajectories of epidemics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) reduced pathogen transmission and mortalityworldwide.However, despite the global pandemic threat, therewas substantial cross-country variation in the adoption of protective behaviors that is not explained by disease prevalence alone. In particular, many countries show a pattern of slow initial mask adoption followed by sharp transitions to high acceptance rates. These patterns are characteristic of behaviors that depend on social norms or peer influence. We develop a game-theoretic model of mask wearing where the utility of wearing a mask depends on the perceived risk of infection, social norms, and mandates from formal institutions. In this model, increasing pathogen transmission or policy stringency can trigger social tipping points in collective mask wearing. We show that complex social dynamics can emerge from simple individual interactions and that sociocultural variables and local policies are important for recovering cross-country variation in the speed and breadth of mask adoption. These results have implications for public health policy and data collection.

Background Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common tick-borne disease in Europe. Although there are indicators that disease risk is higher in the west of Ireland than other areas of Ireland, regional incidence data to confirm this, and to drive effective risk communication is sparse. Professions (e.g. farming, forestry) or recreational activities (e.g. hiking, trail running) that require spending time in tick habitats increase the risk of exposure. The present study is designed to provide baseline information on the perceptions, knowledge, and training of at-risk groups in Ireland relating to LB. Methods The study used an online questionnaire to gather data on perceived risk, disease-related knowledge, and the receipt of training by at-risk individuals ( n  = 443) in Ireland. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 29.0.1.0. Results The study found a median perceived risk of 3/5 (i.e. moderate). There was no difference geographically in perceived risk, despite regional differences in environmental risk factors and cumulative neuroborreliosis rates. The majority (77%) of respondents identified woodlands/scrub as habitats carrying highest LB risk. Fewer than half (48%) of respondents mentioned or described the pathognomonic erythema migrans rash when asked to describe symptoms of LB, and 37% listed erythema migrans plus at least one flu-like symptom. As respondents’ perception of risk increased, so did their ability to identify woodland/scrub as risk habitats, and early LB symptoms. However, when asked to rate the amount of training they had received on a 5-point scale (1 indicates no training and 5 indicates maximum training) respondents in at-risk professions indicated a minimal amount of training (median = 2/5) on tick bite and LB prevention, and people engaging in leisure activities gave a response which indicated no training (median = 1/5). Greater levels of training were associated with greater proportions of respondents indicating woodland/scrub habitats as high-risk habitats ( p  = 0.003, T = 8.876), and describing erythema migrans as a LB symptom ( p  = 0.08, T = 7.007). Conclusions These findings identify the need for more robust risk communication in Ireland, more training for at-risk groups, and the use of targeted awareness campaigns to address knowledge gaps. The implications of the study findings for international research are also discussed.