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Health, Responsibility, and Choice: Contrasting Negotiations of Air Pollution and Immunisation Information

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  • Judith Petts

    (Centre for Environmental Research and Training, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, England)

Abstract

This paper presents an empirical study of public conceptions of responsibility and choice in relation to health protection, and the influence of these upon responses to official information. Two contrasting case studies are used, air pollution and childhood immunisation (specifically the MMR vaccination). The results confirm social networks and everyday experiences, and social normalisation of behaviour as important influences upon learning, responses to information, and the taking of personal action. People require information to support the freedom to make personal choices. However, the two cases illustrate that notions of collective responsibility are weaker, in the case of MMR overridden by personal responsibility, in the case of air pollution being transferred to other institutions. Conclusions are developed relating to information provision in an age promoting individualisation and retraction of government, specifically the need for explicit engagement with the benefits (personal and collective) of health protection measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Judith Petts, 2005. "Health, Responsibility, and Choice: Contrasting Negotiations of Air Pollution and Immunisation Information," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 37(5), pages 791-804, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:37:y:2005:i:5:p:791-804
    DOI: 10.1068/a3779
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eva Lindbladh & Carl Hampus Lyttkens, 2003. "Polarization in the Reaction to Health‐Risk Information: A Question of Social Position?," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(4), pages 841-855, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Karen Bickerstaff & Peter Simmons & Nick Pidgeon, 2008. "Constructing Responsibilities for Risk: Negotiating Citizen — State Relationships," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 40(6), pages 1312-1330, June.
    2. Steven Yearley, 2006. "Bridging the Science – Policy Divide in Urban Air-Quality Management: Evaluating Ways to Make Models More Robust through Public Engagement," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 24(5), pages 701-714, October.
    3. Wouter Poortinga & Patrick Cox & Nick F. Pidgeon, 2008. "The Perceived Health Risks of Indoor Radon Gas and Overhead Powerlines: A Comparative Multilevel Approach," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 235-248, February.
    4. Julie Cupples & Victoria Guyatt & Jamie Pearce, 2007. "“Put on a Jacket, You Wuss†: Cultural Identities, Home Heating, and Air Pollution in Christchurch, New Zealand," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 39(12), pages 2883-2898, December.

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