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Rural Parents' Perceptions of Risks Associated with Their Children's Exposure to Radon
Author(s) -
Hill Wade G.,
Butterfield Patricia,
Larsson Laura S.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
public health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1525-1446
pISSN - 0737-1209
DOI - 10.1111/j.1525-1446.2006.00578.x
Subject(s) - radon , environmental health , medicine , public health , seriousness , radon exposure , risk perception , cross sectional study , rural area , sample (material) , perception , demography , psychology , nursing , chemistry , physics , pathology , quantum mechanics , chromatography , neuroscience , political science , law , sociology
Objectives: To examine the level of awareness of radon issues, correlates of elective testing behaviors, and the accuracy of risk perception for radon exposures among rural residents receiving public health services. Design: A cross‐sectional design was used in which questionnaire data and household analytic data for radon levels were collected from a nonprobabilistic sample of rural households. Sample: Thirty‐one rural households with 71 adults and 60 children participated in the study. Primary household respondents were female (100%), Caucasian (97%), and primarily (94%) between 21 and 40 years of age. Measurement: Questionnaire data consisted of knowledge and risk perception items about radon and all homes were tested for the presence of radon. Results: The prevalence of high airborne radon (defined as≥4 pCi/l) was 32%. More than a third of the sample underestimated the seriousness of health effects of radon exposure, 39% disagreed that being around less radon would improve the long‐term health of their children, and 52% were unsure whether radon could cause health problems. After adjusting for chance, only 21% of the subjects correctly understood their risk status. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that low‐income rural citizens do not understand their risk of radon exposure or the deleterious consequences of exposure.