Reframing Climate Change as a Public Health Issue: An Exploratory Study of Public Reactions

Title

Reframing Climate Change as a Public Health Issue: An Exploratory Study of Public Reactions

Identifier

fac_pubs/44

Date

1/1/2010

Abstract

Background: Climate change is taking a toll on human health, and some leaders in the public health community have urged their colleagues to give voice to its health implications. Previous research has shown that Americans are only dimly aware of the health implications of climate change, yet the literature on issue framing suggests that providing a novel frame - such as human health - may be potentially useful in enhancing public engagement. We conducted an exploratory study in the United States of people's reactions to a public health-framed short essay on climate change. Methods: U.S. adult respondents (n = 70), stratified by six previously identified audience segments, read the essay and were asked to highlight in green or pink any portions of the essay they found "especially clear and helpful" or alternatively "especially confusing or unhelpful." Two dependent measures were created: a composite sentencespecific score based on reactions to all 18 sentences in the essay; and respondents' general reactions to the essay that were coded for valence (positive, neutral, or negative). We tested the hypothesis that five of the six audience segments would respond positively to the essay on both dependent measures. Results: There was clear evidence that two of the five segments responded positively to the public health essay, and mixed evidence that two other responded positively. There was limited evidence that the fifth segment responded positively. Post-hoc analysis showed that five of the six segments responded more positively to information about the health benefits associated with mitigation-related policy actions than to information about the health risks of climate change. Conclusions: Presentations about climate change that encourage people to consider its human health relevance appear likely to provide many Americans with a useful and engaging new frame of reference. Information about the potential health benefits of specific mitigation-related policy actions appears to be particularly compelling. We believe that the public health community has an important perspective to share about climate change, a perspective that makes the problem more personally relevant, significant, and understandable to members of the public.

Publisher

BioMed Central

Language

eng

Type

Text

department or school name within institution

Communication Studies

Source

BMC Public Health

funded by

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Investigator Award

Creator

Jennifer L. Hughes

Debi Brannan

Bradley Cannon

Amber M. Anthenien

Subject

climate change

global warming

West Nile Virus

dependent measure

public engagement