Risk perception of health warning labels

How Health Warning Labels on Wine and Vodka Bottles Influence Perceived Risk, Rejection, and Acceptanc

How health warning labels on wine and vodka bottles influence perceived risk, rejection, and acceptance

Background Wine consumption has a particular place in the culture of many European countries, and beliefs that wine offers health benefits are widespread. High consumption of wine and other alcoholic beverages among many Europeans correlates with alcohol-related accidents and disease burdens. Health warning labels (HWLs) on alcohol containers have been increasingly recommended to deter consumers from drinking. However, findings on the impact of HWLs on consumers' behavior have been mixed. Moreover, many European consumers have been found to reject the use of warning labels as a policy intervention, especially for wine, perhaps due to its cultural and economic importance. Methods An online study with a between-subjects design was conducted in Switzerland (N = 506) to assess whether HWLs can influence the perceived risk associated with drinking wine and vodka, a beverage insignificant to Swiss culture. Participants were presented an image of either a wine or vodka bottle with or without an HWL presenting a liver cancer warning statement. They were then asked to indicate their perceived risk of regularly consuming the depicted beverage. Acceptance and rejection of HWLs were also assessed. Results The perceived risk of vodka consumption exceeded the corresponding risk for wine but was unaffected by an HWL. Perceived health benefits were the main, negative predictor of perceived consumption risk. Participants mainly rejected HWLs due to their perceived effectiveness, perceived positive health effects, social norms, and individualistic values. Conclusions Perceived risk is an important determinant of drinking behavior, and our results suggest that HWLs may be unable to alter risk perceptions. Furthermore, a strong belief in the health benefits of alcohol consumption, particularly wine consumption, reduce risk perceptions and may be unaffected by HWLs.ISSN:1471-245

Risk perception and acceptance of health warning labels on wine

Wine is an essential part of European culture. Unfortunately, the consumption of alcohol, such as wine, can have negative health effects. Health warning labels (HWLs) are increasingly presented as a measure to warn consumers of the threat alcohol poses to their health. At present, only a few countries in Europe have introduced mandatory HWLs on wine bottles. This may be due to the cultural and economic significance of wine and the European public's refusal to accept HWLs on a product like wine. To investigate this issue, we conducted an online experiment in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and assessed the perception of risk in participants who were presented wine bottles featuring different types of HWLs. We also studied how health beliefs and cultural worldviews influence the perception and acceptance of HWLs. Our study revealed a small effect of HWLs on consumers’ risk perception. There was no difference between a simple text-only HWL and a label featuring a deterring picture (image-and-text HWL). The major determinants of HWL acceptability were cultural worldviews and health beliefs. That is, participants who opposed government intervention for collective wellbeing and espoused a belief in the health benefits of wine were less likely to accept HWLs on wine. More research is needed to assess the effectiveness of HWLs in real-life situations and the importance of culture to the acceptance of such a public intervention measure

You are what you drink: Stereotypes about consumers of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer

People infer what someone is like from what they eat or drink. Such stereotypes can also influence behavior, since consumers’ choices reflect how they wish to be perceived. Beer is one of the most widely consumed alcoholic beverages worldwide but particularly in Germany. Although one may avoid the negative effects of alcohol by consuming non-alcoholic beer (NAB), negative perceptions of NAB may prevent alcoholic beer consumers from drinking NAB. This study investigated stereotypes associated with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer consumption via an online vignette experiment. German participants (N = 509) received a description of a fictitious man or woman ordering either an alcoholic beer or NAB and were asked to evaluate the character using 14 bipolar adjective pairs. Beer type (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) had a significant influence on nine adjective pairs. Drinking NAB was associated with being health-conscious, rational, disciplined, modern, stronger, feminine, tolerant, satisfied, and relaxed. As choosing NAB may be motivated by a desire to convey a particular image or other social and individual factors, the study investigated the determinants of NAB consumption frequency. For women, being health-conscious and not having a negative view on NAB's taste positively predicted NAB consumption frequency. For men, in addition to a negative view on NAB's taste, subjective norms were a negative predictor of NAB consumption frequency. Thus, although consumers may have positive associations with NAB consumption, NAB's reputation for having an inferior taste to alcoholic beer and consumers’ subjective norms of drinking alcoholic beer may prevent them from drinking NAB. Practical implications and directives for future studies are provided.ISSN:0950-3293ISSN:1873-634

Conservation tillage and organic farming induce minor variations in Pseudomonas abundance, their antimicrobial function and soil disease resistance

Conservation tillage and organic farming are strategies used worldwide to preserve the stability and fertility of soils. While positive effects on soil structure have been extensively reported, the effects on specific root- and soil-associated microorganisms are less known. The aim of this study was to investigate how conservation tillage and organic farming influence the frequency and activity of plant-beneficial pseudomonads. Amplicon sequencing using the 16S rRNA gene revealed that Pseudomonas is among the most abundant bacterial taxa in the root microbiome of field-grown wheat, independent of agronomical practices. However, pseudomonads carrying genes required for the biosynthesis of specific antimicrobial compounds were enriched in samples from conventionally farmed plots without tillage. In contrast, disease resistance tests indicated that soil from conventional no tillage plots is less resistant to the soilborne pathogen Pythium ultimum compared to soil from organic reduced tillage plots, which exhibited the highest resistance of all compared cropping systems. Reporter strain-based gene expression assays did not reveal any differences in Pseudomonas antimicrobial gene expression between soils from different cropping systems. Our results suggest that plant-beneficial pseudomonads can be favoured by certain soil cropping systems, but soil resistance against plant diseases is likely determined by a multitude of biotic factors in addition to Pseudomonas

Variation in Current Management of Term and Late-preterm Neonates at Risk for Early-onset Sepsis: An International Survey and Review of Guidelines.

Uncertainty about the presence of infection results in unnecessary and prolonged empiric antibiotic treatment of newborns at risk for early-onset sepsis (EOS). This study evaluates the impact of this uncertainty on the diversity in management. A web-based survey with questions addressing management of infection risk-adjusted scenarios was performed in Europe, North America, and Australia. Published national guidelines (n = 5) were reviewed and compared with the results of the survey. 439 Clinicians (68% were neonatologists) from 16 countries completed the survey. In the low-risk scenario, 29% would start antibiotic therapy and 26% would not, both groups without laboratory investigations; 45% would start if laboratory markers were abnormal. In the high-risk scenario, 99% would start antibiotic therapy. In the low-risk scenario, 89% would discontinue antibiotic therapy before 72 hours. In the high-risk scenario, 35% would discontinue therapy before 72 hours, 56% would continue therapy for 5-7 days, and 9% for more than 7 days. Laboratory investigations were used in 31% of scenarios for the decision to start, and in 72% for the decision to discontinue antibiotic treatment. National guidelines differ considerably regarding the decision to start in low-risk and regarding the decision to continue therapy in higher risk situations. There is a broad diversity of clinical practice in management of EOS and a lack of agreement between current guidelines. The results of the survey reflect the diversity of national guidelines. Prospective studies regarding management of neonates at risk of EOS with safety endpoints are needed

Pilot Testing of a Nurse-Led Basic Symptom Self-management Support for Patients Receiving First-Line Systemic Outpatient Anticancer Treatment: A Cluster-Randomized Study (Symptom Navi Pilot Study).

BACKGROUND The Symptom Navi Program (SNP) is a nurse-led intervention supporting basic symptom self-management for patients with any cancer diagnosis. The SNP has been accepted by patients and healthcare professionals alike. OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were to pilot the SNP and evaluate patient-reported symptom outcomes, nursing support for symptom management, and patient safety. METHODS Using a cluster-randomized design, we randomized centers to the intervention (SNP) or control group (usual care). Adult patients starting first-line systemic cancer treatment were included. The primary outcome was the change in symptom interference with daily functions from treatment onset to 16 weeks. Secondary outcomes included changes in symptom severity, symptom burden, self-efficacy, and perceived symptom management support and patient safety. We used linear and logistic mixed-effects models to pilot-test differences in mean changes between groups. The trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03649984). RESULTS Changes in symptom interference with daily functions did not differ (mean difference at 16 weeks: -0.50; 95% confidence interval, -1.38 to 0.38; P = 0.25) between SNP (3 centers, 49 patients) and control (5 centers, 85 patients) as for all other outcomes. No adverse events were reported. CONCLUSIONS Our preliminary findings did not indicate an effect of the SNP on patient-reported symptom outcomes, self-efficacy, or symptom management support. Inadequate power and SNP components (eg, insufficient training, low number of follow-up consultations) may be attributed to the lack of an observed effect. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE The SNP training content and intervention procedures merit reconsideration