Abstract

In the Netherlands, until recently, public messages in case of a large chemical fire, routinely contained phrases such as: ‘no hazardous materials have been detected in the smoke’, ‘there is no danger to public health’, and ‘people are recommended to stay indoors and close doors and windows’. Such messages not only fail to adequately inform people about risk, they are also inherently inconsistent. That is, the advice to stay clear from the smoke makes little sense unless there is a potential danger of the smoke. To improve risk communication in case of major fires, we developed several alternative risk messages and tested them in a digital experiment. We found that participants who read alternative messages that included the phrase: ‘all smoke is harmful’ considered the message more credible and less inconsistent than those who read the routine message. However, they also perceived the risk as higher. Participants who read an alternative message in which a qualification of the extremely low chance of developing cancer by inhaling the smoke was added, considered the message just as credible but also more clear. Moreover, they had lower perceptions of risk than those who read the alternative message without a qualification of risk. Responses with respect to adherence to recommendations or expectations towards government actions did not differ depending on the message. Based on our findings, we conclude that a public warning in case of major fires should take the public perspective into account, fitting the content s to the needs of the final receivers, and conveying a clear, consistent and informative message to enhance a basic understanding of the risk involved and the rationale of recommendations. This will not only enhance trust and credibility it may also reduce concerns and promote adherence to recommendations.

摘要

在荷兰，直到最近，在发生大化学火灾的情况下，公共信息通常包含以下短语：“烟雾中未检测到有害物质”，“对公共健康没有危害”和“建议人们使用”留在室内并关闭门窗。这样的消息不仅不能充分告知人们有关风险的信息，而且本质上也是不一致的。就是说，除非有潜在的烟雾危险，否则远离烟雾的建议几乎没有道理。为了改善发生大火时的风险交流，我们开发了几种替代风险消息，并在数字实验中对其进行了测试。我们发现，参加者阅读包含以下短语的替代消息：“所有烟雾都是有害的”，因为与阅读常规消息的人相比，该消息更可信，更不一致。但是，他们也认为风险更高。参加者在阅读替代信息后，增加了通过吸入烟气而患癌症的极低机会的资格，他们认为该信息既可信又清晰。此外，他们比那些没有风险条件而阅读替代信息的人对风险的感知要低。关于传达对政府行动的建议或期望的坚持的回应并没有因信息而有所不同。根据我们的发现，我们得出结论，在发生大火的情况下，公共警告应考虑公众的观点，使内容符合最终接收者的需求，并传达清晰，一致且信息丰富的信息，以增强对所涉及风险和建议依据的基本了解。这不仅可以增强信任和信誉，还可以减少担忧并促进对建议的遵守。