Cargando…

Exposure Knowledge and Perception of Wireless Communication Technologies

The presented survey investigates risk and exposure perceptions of radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) associated with base stations, mobile phones and other sources, the key issue being the interaction between both sets of perceptions. The study is based on a cross-sectional design, and...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Freudenstein, Frederik, Correia, Luis M., Oliveira, Carla, Sebastião, Daniel, Wiedemann, Peter M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4661640/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26561826
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph121114177
_version_ 1782403015797374976
author Freudenstein, Frederik
Correia, Luis M.
Oliveira, Carla
Sebastião, Daniel
Wiedemann, Peter M.
author_facet Freudenstein, Frederik
Correia, Luis M.
Oliveira, Carla
Sebastião, Daniel
Wiedemann, Peter M.
author_sort Freudenstein, Frederik
collection PubMed
description The presented survey investigates risk and exposure perceptions of radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) associated with base stations, mobile phones and other sources, the key issue being the interaction between both sets of perceptions. The study is based on a cross-sectional design, and conducted with an online sample of 838 citizens from Portugal. The results indicate that respondents’ intuitive exposure perception differs from the actual exposure levels. Furthermore, exposure and risk perceptions are found to be highly correlated. Respondents’ beliefs  about exposure factors, which might influence possible health risks, is appropriate. A regression analysis between exposure characteristics, as predictor variables, and RF EMF risk perception, as the response variable, indicates that people seem to use simple heuristics to form their perceptions. What is bigger, more frequent and longer lasting is seen as riskier. Moreover, the quality of exposure knowledge is not an indicator for amplified EMF risk perception. These findings show that exposure perception is key to future risk communication.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-4661640
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2015
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-46616402015-12-10 Exposure Knowledge and Perception of Wireless Communication Technologies Freudenstein, Frederik Correia, Luis M. Oliveira, Carla Sebastião, Daniel Wiedemann, Peter M. Int J Environ Res Public Health Article The presented survey investigates risk and exposure perceptions of radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) associated with base stations, mobile phones and other sources, the key issue being the interaction between both sets of perceptions. The study is based on a cross-sectional design, and conducted with an online sample of 838 citizens from Portugal. The results indicate that respondents’ intuitive exposure perception differs from the actual exposure levels. Furthermore, exposure and risk perceptions are found to be highly correlated. Respondents’ beliefs  about exposure factors, which might influence possible health risks, is appropriate. A regression analysis between exposure characteristics, as predictor variables, and RF EMF risk perception, as the response variable, indicates that people seem to use simple heuristics to form their perceptions. What is bigger, more frequent and longer lasting is seen as riskier. Moreover, the quality of exposure knowledge is not an indicator for amplified EMF risk perception. These findings show that exposure perception is key to future risk communication. MDPI 2015-11-06 2015-11 /pmc/articles/PMC4661640/ /pubmed/26561826 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph121114177 Text en © 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Freudenstein, Frederik
Correia, Luis M.
Oliveira, Carla
Sebastião, Daniel
Wiedemann, Peter M.
Exposure Knowledge and Perception of Wireless Communication Technologies
title Exposure Knowledge and Perception of Wireless Communication Technologies
title_full Exposure Knowledge and Perception of Wireless Communication Technologies
title_fullStr Exposure Knowledge and Perception of Wireless Communication Technologies
title_full_unstemmed Exposure Knowledge and Perception of Wireless Communication Technologies
title_short Exposure Knowledge and Perception of Wireless Communication Technologies
title_sort exposure knowledge and perception of wireless communication technologies
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4661640/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26561826
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph121114177
work_keys_str_mv AT freudensteinfrederik exposureknowledgeandperceptionofwirelesscommunicationtechnologies
AT correialuism exposureknowledgeandperceptionofwirelesscommunicationtechnologies
AT oliveiracarla exposureknowledgeandperceptionofwirelesscommunicationtechnologies
AT sebastiaodaniel exposureknowledgeandperceptionofwirelesscommunicationtechnologies
AT wiedemannpeterm exposureknowledgeandperceptionofwirelesscommunicationtechnologies