Evaluating the suitability of documents on the prevention of major risks intended for the general public

Abstract

Abstract. Providing preventive information to the public is one of the major challenges in the prevention of major hazards. In France, the DICRIM (Document d'Information Communal sur les Risques Majeurs; in English "Municipal Information Document on Major Risks") is currently the main regulatory risk communication tool intended for the general public. It has been developed with the aim of contributing to awareness and knowledge of risks and informing on the actions and behaviors to adopt. This raises questions as to its suitability composed of readability and legibility, essential for its appropriation by the population. Answering these questions constitutes the first step in improving its effectiveness. This article presents the development of indicators and a decision support model used to analyze and improve the suitability of a DICRIM. Two types of indicator, considering visual and content characteristics, were developed: System Indicators for the entire document and Substantive and Formal Component Indicators for the fields it contains. They were formalized using five types of source: the literature, expert knowledge, opinions of residents, analysis of a DICRIM database and a questionnaire survey. The aggregation of indicators provides suitability scores and feedback on what should be improved in the DICRIM. Validation sessions were performed with five risk analysis experts. The advantage of the model is that it can be used by the town halls and design offices of any municipality without the need to call on experts or significant human or financial resources.