Perceived risk and demands for countermeasures against diabetes and radiation in Fukushima after the nuclear accident: Effects of self-rated risk trade-off view and provision of risk information

It is crucial to examine how risk perception, risk trade-off view, and provision of risk information affect demands for countermeasures against multiple risks after a nuclear disaster. We investigated factors associated with the perceived dread risk of radiation exposure or diabetes and the self-rated risk trade-off view. We examined how the risk perception, self-rated risk trade-off view, and provision of risk information affected the perceived magnitude of the risks and the demands for countermeasures. We distributed an online questionnaire to 2806 panelists aged 20–69 years in the Fukushima Prefecture in 2018 and received 1044 valid responses. Both the perceived dread risk of radiation exposure and diabetes was associated with evacuation experience and trustworthy sources of information. The self-rated risk trade-off view was associated with gender, occupation, educational background, trustworthy sources of information, and a diabetes diagnosis. The perceived magnitude of radiation risk and the demand for countermeasures were governed by the perceived dread risk of radiation rather than the types of information provided or the self-rated risk trade-off view. Conversely, the perceived magnitude of diabetes risk and the demand for countermeasures were associated with both the perceived dread risk of diabetes and the self-rated risk trade-off view. The provision of risk comparison information slightly enhanced the demand for societal countermeasures against diabetes. The perceived dread risk is more strongly associated with the perceived magnitude of the risk and the demands for countermeasures than provided information. Development of a self-rated risk trade-off view is useful for encouraging countermeasures against diabetes.