Did they get it? Examining the goals of risk communication within the Seveso II Directive in a Swedish context
(2004) In Journal of Risk Research 7(5). p.495-506- Abstract
In this article, the success of a risk communication programme conducted in two municipalities in Sweden is evaluated. The communication efforts were initiated in order to comply with the Seveso II Directive, passed as a national law in July 1999. Data from two different questionnaires are used. Between the distribution of the two questionnaires, an information campaign took place in the communities. The first questionnaire was aimed at measuring the public's opinion and understanding of the risks related to chemical industries in their communities, as well as the public's knowledge of emergency behaviour in the event of an accident. The second was aimed at measuring the effects or impact of the risk communication programme on the... (More)
In this article, the success of a risk communication programme conducted in two municipalities in Sweden is evaluated. The communication efforts were initiated in order to comply with the Seveso II Directive, passed as a national law in July 1999. Data from two different questionnaires are used. Between the distribution of the two questionnaires, an information campaign took place in the communities. The first questionnaire was aimed at measuring the public's opinion and understanding of the risks related to chemical industries in their communities, as well as the public's knowledge of emergency behaviour in the event of an accident. The second was aimed at measuring the effects or impact of the risk communication programme on the public. A total of 346 respondents participated in the study by answering two questionnaires. An evaluation of the risk communication efforts was focused around three dimensions: comprehension, audience evaluation and communication failures. The results showed differences between the two campaigns that gave significantly different results in the two communities. In the community with the multimedia channel campaign, the respondents showed greater knowledge of the production process at the local industry, they also judged the health threats for that industry to be less after the campaign, and they saved the information material to a greater extent. However, the overall effects of the information campaigns were weak. Future research is needed to explore the relation between people's emergency behaviour and risk communication.
(Less)
- author
- Wester-Herber, Misse LU and Warg, Lars Erik
- publishing date
- 2004-07
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Community, Evaluating risk communication, Information campaigns, Seveso II Directive
- in
- Journal of Risk Research
- volume
- 7
- issue
- 5
- pages
- 12 pages
- publisher
- Routledge
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:2442657830
- ISSN
- 1366-9877
- DOI
- 10.1080/1366987031000074195
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- db6cc181-f51b-444f-8f1d-5812e872fec2
- date added to LUP
- 2022-03-16 12:18:29
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:40:54
@article{db6cc181-f51b-444f-8f1d-5812e872fec2,
abstract = {{<p>In this article, the success of a risk communication programme conducted in two municipalities in Sweden is evaluated. The communication efforts were initiated in order to comply with the Seveso II Directive, passed as a national law in July 1999. Data from two different questionnaires are used. Between the distribution of the two questionnaires, an information campaign took place in the communities. The first questionnaire was aimed at measuring the public's opinion and understanding of the risks related to chemical industries in their communities, as well as the public's knowledge of emergency behaviour in the event of an accident. The second was aimed at measuring the effects or impact of the risk communication programme on the public. A total of 346 respondents participated in the study by answering two questionnaires. An evaluation of the risk communication efforts was focused around three dimensions: comprehension, audience evaluation and communication failures. The results showed differences between the two campaigns that gave significantly different results in the two communities. In the community with the multimedia channel campaign, the respondents showed greater knowledge of the production process at the local industry, they also judged the health threats for that industry to be less after the campaign, and they saved the information material to a greater extent. However, the overall effects of the information campaigns were weak. Future research is needed to explore the relation between people's emergency behaviour and risk communication.</p>}},
author = {{Wester-Herber, Misse and Warg, Lars Erik}},
issn = {{1366-9877}},
keywords = {{Community; Evaluating risk communication; Information campaigns; Seveso II Directive}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{5}},
pages = {{495--506}},
publisher = {{Routledge}},
series = {{Journal of Risk Research}},
title = {{Did they get it? Examining the goals of risk communication within the Seveso II Directive in a Swedish context}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1366987031000074195}},
doi = {{10.1080/1366987031000074195}},
volume = {{7}},
year = {{2004}},
}