IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v223y2019icp40-50.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Conceptualizations of climate-related health risks among health experts and the public in Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Hussey, Lucia Kafui
  • Arku, Godwin

Abstract

One major area that has gathered public attention in relation to climate change is health risks. Studies into risk perceptions have acknowledged differences between public and expert knowledge. What is less known is how perceptions of climate change related health risk vary between the public and health experts and how these differentiated perceptions are shaped and modified by everyday complex climate change narratives from multiple actors, and contextual ecologies of social and physical spaces. A concurrent mixed-methods approach was used to elucidate climate change knowledge and awareness of climate-related health risks among health experts and the public. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected on community members (n = 927) and health experts (n = 99) in Savelugu-Nanton and Ada East Districts in Ghana. The results showed that both groups were likely to report climate change-related health concerns, of which disease was the top concern. However, differences exist in public and experts’ perceptions of climate change health linkage. Community members were less likely to link climate change to health risks compared with health experts (OR = 0.02, p ≤ 0.000). The contrasting climate change health risk perceptions between health experts and the public adds to the literature on the health dimensions of global environmental change. The findings from this study highlight limited knowledge about climate change health related risks among the public. Hence, in building sustainable communities in light of persistent climate change impacts, it is crucial to improve climate change adaptation by implementing climate change sensitization programs. In addition, health infrastructure, decision-making and management should be strengthened for effective response to emerging climate-health risks in Ghana and similar contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Hussey, Lucia Kafui & Arku, Godwin, 2019. "Conceptualizations of climate-related health risks among health experts and the public in Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 223(C), pages 40-50.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:223:y:2019:i:c:p:40-50
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.01.026
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953619300267
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.01.026?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. De Casas, Susana Isabel Curto & Carcavallo, Rodolfo U., 1995. "Climate change and vector-borne diseases distribution," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 40(11), pages 1437-1440, June.
    2. Jing Shi & Vivianne H. M. Visschers & Michael Siegrist & Joseph Arvai, 2016. "Knowledge as a driver of public perceptions about climate change reassessed," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(8), pages 759-762, August.
    3. Robert E. O'Connor & Richard J. Bard & Ann Fisher, 1999. "Risk Perceptions, General Environmental Beliefs, and Willingness to Address Climate Change," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(3), pages 461-471, June.
    4. Anthony A. Leiserowitz, 2005. "American Risk Perceptions: Is Climate Change Dangerous?," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1433-1442, December.
    5. Taciano L. Milfont, 2012. "The Interplay Between Knowledge, Perceived Efficacy, and Concern About Global Warming and Climate Change: A One‐Year Longitudinal Study," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(6), pages 1003-1020, June.
    6. R. Vignola & S. Klinsky & J. Tam & T. McDaniels, 2013. "Public perception, knowledge and policy support for mitigation and adaption to Climate Change in Costa Rica: Comparisons with North American and European studies," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 303-323, March.
    7. Paul M. Kellstedt & Sammy Zahran & Arnold Vedlitz, 2008. "Personal Efficacy, the Information Environment, and Attitudes Toward Global Warming and Climate Change in the United States," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 113-126, February.
    8. Hao Yu & Bing Wang & Yue-Jun Zhang & Shouyang Wang & Yi-Ming Wei, 2013. "Public perception of climate change in China: results from the questionnaire survey," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 69(1), pages 459-472, October.
    9. Connie Roser-Renouf & Edward W Maibach & Jennifer Li, 2016. "Adapting to the Changing Climate: An Assessment of Local Health Department Preparations for Climate Change-Related Health Threats, 2008-2012," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(3), pages 1-17, March.
    10. Tien Ming Lee & Ezra M. Markowitz & Peter D. Howe & Chia-Ying Ko & Anthony A. Leiserowitz, 2015. "Predictors of public climate change awareness and risk perception around the world," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 5(11), pages 1014-1020, November.
    11. Daniel Read & Ann Bostrom & M. Granger Morgan & Baruch Fischhoff & Tom Smuts, 1994. "What Do People Know About Global Climate Change? 2. Survey Studies of Educated Laypeople," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(6), pages 971-982, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shreya S. Shrikhande & Sonja Merten & Olga Cambaco & Tristan Lee & Ravivarman Lakshmanasamy & Martin Röösli & Mohammad Aqiel Dalvie & Jürg Utzinger & Guéladio Cissé, 2023. "“Climate Change and Health?”: Knowledge and Perceptions among Key Stakeholders in Puducherry, India," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-18, March.
    2. Mª del Carmen Olmos-Gómez & Ligia Isabel Estrada-Vidal & Francisca Ruiz-Garzón & Rafael López-Cordero & Laila Mohamed-Mohand, 2019. "Making Future Teachers More Aware of Issues Related to Sustainability: An Assessment of Best Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-21, December.
    3. Shao, Wanyun & Hao, Feng, 2020. "Confidence in political leaders can slant risk perceptions of COVID–19 in a highly polarized environment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emőke Kiss & Dániel Balla & András Donát Kovács, 2022. "Characteristics of Climate Concern—Attitudes and Personal Actions—A Case Study of Hungarian Settlements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-22, April.
    2. Hu, Saiquan & Jia, Xiao & Zhang, Xiaojin & Zheng, Xiaoying & Zhu, Junming, 2017. "How political ideology affects climate perception: Moderation effects of time orientation and knowledge," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 124-131.
    3. Ann Bostrom & Adam L. Hayes & Katherine M. Crosman, 2019. "Efficacy, Action, and Support for Reducing Climate Change Risks," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(4), pages 805-828, April.
    4. Alexis H. Villacis & Jeffrey R. Alwang & Victor Barrera, 2021. "Linking risk preferences and risk perceptions of climate change: A prospect theory approach," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(5), pages 863-877, September.
    5. Rachel Dryden & M. Granger Morgan & Ann Bostrom & Wändi Bruine de Bruin, 2018. "Public Perceptions of How Long Air Pollution and Carbon Dioxide Remain in the Atmosphere," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(3), pages 525-534, March.
    6. Jagadish Thaker & Nicholas Smith & Anthony Leiserowitz, 2020. "Global Warming Risk Perceptions in India," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(12), pages 2481-2497, December.
    7. Stefan Linde, 2020. "The Politicization of Risk: Party Cues, Polarization, and Public Perceptions of Climate Change Risk," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(10), pages 2002-2018, October.
    8. Travis William Reynolds & Ann Bostrom & Daniel Read & M. Granger Morgan, 2010. "Now What Do People Know About Global Climate Change? Survey Studies of Educated Laypeople," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(10), pages 1520-1538, October.
    9. Tai-Yi Yu & Tai-Kuei Yu, 2017. "The Moderating Effects of Students’ Personality Traits on Pro-Environmental Behavioral Intentions in Response to Climate Change," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-20, November.
    10. Veysel Yilmaz & Pınar Guleç & Erkan Ari, 2023. "Impact of climate change information of university students in Turkey on responsibility and environmental behavior through awareness and perceived risk," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 7281-7297, July.
    11. Loredana Antronico & Roberto Coscarelli & Francesco De Pascale & Dante Di Matteo, 2020. "Climate Change and Social Perception: A Case Study in Southern Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-24, August.
    12. Paul M. Kellstedt & Sammy Zahran & Arnold Vedlitz, 2008. "Personal Efficacy, the Information Environment, and Attitudes Toward Global Warming and Climate Change in the United States," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 113-126, February.
    13. Jing Shi & Vivianne H. M. Visschers & Michael Siegrist, 2015. "Public Perception of Climate Change: The Importance of Knowledge and Cultural Worldviews," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(12), pages 2183-2201, December.
    14. Haoran Chu & Janet Z. Yang, 2020. "Risk or Efficacy? How Psychological Distance Influences Climate Change Engagement," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(4), pages 758-770, April.
    15. Lianping Yang & Wenmin Liao & Chaojie Liu & Na Zhang & Shuang Zhong & Cunrui Huang, 2018. "Associations between Knowledge of the Causes and Perceived Impacts of Climate Change: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Medical, Public Health and Nursing Students in Universities in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-14, November.
    16. Katherine M. Crosman & Ann Bostrom & Adam L. Hayes, 2019. "Efficacy Foundations for Risk Communication: How People Think About Reducing the Risks of Climate Change," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(10), pages 2329-2347, October.
    17. Jessica R. Murfree, 2023. "Exploring Major League Baseball Fans’ Climate Change Risk Perceptions and Adaptation Willingness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-17, May.
    18. Nicholas Smith & Anthony Leiserowitz, 2012. "The Rise of Global Warming Skepticism: Exploring Affective Image Associations in the United States Over Time," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(6), pages 1021-1032, June.
    19. Adrian Brügger & Moritz Gubler & Katharine Steentjes & Stuart B. Capstick, 2020. "Social Identity and Risk Perception Explain Participation in the Swiss Youth Climate Strikes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-17, December.
    20. Ariel Malka & Jon A. Krosnick & Gary Langer, 2009. "The Association of Knowledge with Concern About Global Warming: Trusted Information Sources Shape Public Thinking," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 633-647, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:223:y:2019:i:c:p:40-50. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.