Towards a strategic research agenda for social sciences and humanities in radiological protection

Abstract

Reflecting a change in funding strategies for European research projects, and a commitment to the idea of responsible research and innovation in radiological protection (RP), a collective of research institutes and universities have developed a prospective Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) for Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) in radiological protection. This is the first time such a research agenda has been proposed. This paper identifies six research lines of interest and concern: (1) Effects of social, psychological and economic aspects on RP behaviour; (2) Holistic approaches to the governance of radiological risks; (3) Responsible research and innovation in RP; (4) Stakeholder engagement and participatory processes in RP research, development, policy and practice; (5) Risk communication; and (6) RP cultures. These topics were developed through broad stakeholder consultation, in conjunction with activities carried out in the framework of various projects and initiatives (EU H2020 CONCERT programme, the EU FP7 projects OPERRA, PREPARE and EAGLE, the 2015–2018 RICOMET series of conferences, and the 2014 and 2016 International Symposia on Ethics of Environmental Health); as well as through dialogues with members of the European radiation protection research communities. The six research lines open opportunities to integrate a range of key social and ethical considerations into RP, thereby expanding research opportunities and programmes and fostering collaborative approaches to research and innovation.

Areas of research to support the system of radiological protection

“…It presents ICRP's vision of “Areas of Research to Support the System of Radiological Protection”. In doing so, the ICRP aims to harmonise and highlight research priorities that are promoted by other relevant international organisations (Kreuzer et al 2018 ; Muikku et al 2018 ; Hoeschen 2018 ; Schneider et al 2018 ; Bouffler et al 2019 ; NERIS, 2019 ; Perko et al, 2019 ; Harrison et al 2021 ; Impens and Salomaa 2021 ), with the specificity of putting them in the perspective of the evolution of the System of Radiological Protection. The research needs identified cover a wide range of disciplines, some overlapping, including but not limited to artificial intelligence, communication science, dosimetry, ecology, epidemiology, ethics, medical imaging and radiotherapy, modelling, radiobiology, social sciences, technology development, toxicology and uncertainty analysis.…”

Guidance on communicating about uncertainties in nuclear emergency management

“…Developing tools to deal with communication about uncertainties, either of technical or social nature, is crucial to improving protection, health and well-being of the affected population, and to enable informed decision making by the affected population as well as by experts. Communication strategies developed by different EU projects, as well as by risk communication researchers, for instance in European projects PREPARE, EAGLE (Perko et al, 2016b), CONCERT (Perko et al, 2019b), ARGOS, etc. highly advise to include information about uncertainties when communicating with the public, since it helps people to make informed decisions (Shirabe et al, 2015;Perko, 2016;Perko et al, 2016a).…”

X-rays for medical imaging: Radiation protection, governance and ethics over 125 years

“…The EC also produced publications, the RP series, in support of the medical exposures Directive and continued to foster substantial related research programmes [70]. During the last decade, these initiatives extended to exploring contributions of the social sciences and humanities to radiation protection [71,72].…”