Clearing the air: A systematic review of mass media campaigns to increase indoor radon testing and remediation

Abstract

Indoor radon is a natural radioactive gas that enters homes through cracks in the foundations. It is one of the leading causes of lung cancer. Although radon can be detected with an indoor radon test and can be mitigated by means of either ventilation or professional measures, testing and mitigating rates of the at-risk population remain insufficient. The objective of this study is to systematically review the current level of evidence regarding the design and effectiveness of mass media campaigns to address the health risks of indoor radon to homeowners. The results show that informative tone of voices prevailed, other components, such as emotional or social components, were often not included. Furthermore, the focus was mostly on intention and less on behavior itself, and on testing instead of mitigation. Further research is needed to test effective and innovative communication strategies to increase protective behavior concerning indoor radon.

Co-Designing Communication: A Design Thinking Approach Applied to Radon Health Communication

“…A recent systematic review that focused on mass media communication about radon [ 9 ] shows that campaigns mostly aim to increase awareness, knowledge, risk perception, and perceived susceptibility using factual communication in the form of brochures or press articles. The focus is on providing people with information about the characteristics of radon and the (technical) solutions.…”

“…Moreover, while these communication interventions have shown to be effective to some level (e.g., low degree of increase in testing behavior), the next step, namely mitigation, remains mainly unchanged [ 9 ], which identifies an additional gap. In particular, Hevey identified 17 steps of behavior, from becoming informed about radon to having confirmed mitigation [ 20 ].…”

“…Overall, the systematic review showed a need for more personally relevant communication efforts, as the question remains whether and to what extent the current communication approaches tackle the right determinants at the right moment and are in line with the needs of the public [ 9 ]. This unveils the need to inquire about the their preferences of the target group regarding radon-related communication.…”

“…Research specifically focused on (mass) communication interventions regarding radon has observed multiple gaps in the communication strategies adopted in the past. For instance, statistical information in leaflets or news articles prevails [ 9 ].…”

A psycho-social-environmental lens on radon air pollutant: authorities’, mitigation contractors’, and residents’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to domestic radon mitigation

“…Radon awareness campaigns typically used fear appeal and technical knowledge about radon ( 23 ) to target individuals to encourage them to test and, where appropriate, mitigate. Although some research focuses lack of knowledge of radon as the main issue to address, simply increasing awareness, knowledge or risk perception does not necessarily improve risk mitigation behaviours ( 9 , 25 ).…”