Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T03:58:41.474Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Exploring the role of trust in health risk communication in Nunavik, Canada

Part of: Celebrating IPY Education, Outreach and Engagement – 10 years on

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2019

Amanda D. Boyd Open the ORCID record for Amanda D. Boyd [Opens in a new window] ,
Chris M. Furgal ,
Alyssa M. Mayeda ,
Cindy G. Jardine  and
S. Michelle Driedger
Amanda D. Boyd*
Affiliation:
The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University, 101 Goertzen Hall, Pullman, Washington 99163, USA
Chris M. Furgal
Affiliation:
Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9L 0G2, Canada
Alyssa M. Mayeda
Affiliation:
The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University, 101 Goertzen Hall, Pullman, Washington 99163, USA
Cindy G. Jardine
Affiliation:
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Fraser Valley, 45190 Caen Ave, Chilliwack, British Columbia V2R 0N3Canada
S. Michelle Driedger
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, 750 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3E 0W3Canada
*
Author for correspondence: Amanda D. Boyd, Email: amanda.boyd@wsu.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Communicating about health risks in the Arctic can be challenging. Numerous factors can hinder or promote effective communication. One of the most important components in effective communication is trust in an information source. This is particularly true when a risk is unfamiliar or complex because the public must rely on expert assessment rather than personal evaluation of the risk. A total of 112 Inuit residents from Nunavik, Canada, were interviewed to better understand the factors that influence trust in individuals or organisations. Results indicate that there are six primary factors that influence trust in an information source. These factors include: (1) whether the information source is a friend or family member; (2) past performance of the individual or organisation; (3) the general disposition of the audience member (that is, he or she believes that most people are trustworthy); (4) the openness or candidness of the source; (5) value similarity (referring to the perceived correspondence in values between the audience member and communicator); and (6) the credibility of the source. The results of this study can help determine who or what agencies should provide messages about health risks in the Arctic. It also provides insight about effective strategies for engendering trust among Arctic residents.

Keywords

healthenvironmentcommunicationinformationtrusteducation
Type
Research Note
Information
Polar Record , Volume 55 , Issue 4 , July 2019 , pp. 235 - 240
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

AMAP (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program). (2015). Human health in the Arctic. Oslo: AMAP.Google Scholar
Biernacki, P., & Waldorf, D. (1981). Snowball sampling: problems and techniques of chain referral sampling. Sociological Methods and Research, 10(2), 141–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Covello, V. T., Slovic, P., & Von Winterfeldt, D. (1986). Risk communication: A review of the literature. Emmitsburg, MD: National Emergency Training Center.Google Scholar
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2007). Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Earle, T., & Siegrist, M. (2008). Trust, confidence and cooperation model: a framework for understanding the relation between trust and risk perception. International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 8(1–2), 17–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Earle, T. C., Siegrist, M., & Gutscher, H. (2010). Trust, risk perception and the TCC model of cooperation. Trust in risk management: Uncertainty and scepticism in the public mind, OI, 1–49. doi: 10.4324/9781849773461.Google Scholar
Furgal, C., & Seguin, J. (2006). Climate change, health, and vulnerability in Canadian northern Aboriginal communities. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114(12), 1964–1970.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Furgal, C., Boyd, A. D., & Chan, L. (2014). Assessment of contaminant and dietary nutrient interactions in the Inuit Health Survey: Nunavut, Nunatsiavut and Inuvialuit – part 1: Risk perception and message evaluation study (QS-8667-010-EE-A1, 1-12). Ottawa, Ontario: Northern Contaminants Program, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.Google Scholar
Greenberg, M. R. (2014). Energy policy and research: The underappreciation of trust. Energy Research & Social Science, 1, 152–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jardine, C. G., Banfield, L., Driedger, S. M., & Furgal, C. M. (2013). Risk communication and trust in decision-maker action: A case study of the Giant Mine Remediation Plan. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 72(1), 21184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LeCompte, M. D., & Schensul, J. J. (2010). Designing and conducting ethnographic research. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.Google Scholar
Lundgren, R. E., & McMakin, A. H. (2013). Risk communication: A handbook for communicating environmental, safety and health risks. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peters, R. G., Covello, V. T., & McCallum, D. B. (1997). The determinants of trust and credibility in environmental risk communication: An empirical study. Risk Analysis, 17(1), 43–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parkinson, A. J. (2013). The Arctic human health initiative: a legacy of the International Polar Year 2007–2009. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 72(1), 21655. doi 10.3402/ijch.v72i0.21655.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Provencher, J., Baesemann, J., Carlson, J., Badhe, R., Bellman, J., Hik, D., … Zicus, S. (2011). Polar research education, outreach and communication during the fourth IPY: How the 2007–2008 International Polar Year has contributed to the future of education, outreach and communication. Paris: International Council for Science (ICSU).Google Scholar
Renn, O., & Levine, D. (1991). Credibility and trust in risk communication. Communicating risks to the public: International perspectives, 4, 175–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegrist, M., Cvetkovich, G., & Roth, C. (2000). Salient value similarity, social trust, and risk/benefit perception. Risk Analysis, 20(3), 353–362.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siegrist, M., & Cvetkovich, G. (2000). Perception of hazards: The role of social trust and knowledge. Risk Analysis, 20(5), 713–720.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Slovic, P. (1993). Perceived risk, trust, and democracy. Risk Analysis, 13(6), 675–682.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Statistics Canada. (2013). Inuit: fact sheet for Nunavik. Available from: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-656-x/89-656-x2016016-eng.htm (accessed December 2017).Google Scholar
Statistics Canada. (2017). Census Profile, 2016 Census. Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001. Available from: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm (accessed 13 March 2019).Google Scholar
Suter, W. (2012). Introduction to educational research: A critical thinking approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar