Community Survey of Perceived Environmental Health Risks in Western Australia 2009

This report was released in 2009 and can be downloaded from the Department of Health WA website:  http://www.public.health.wa.gov.au/cproot/2112/2/11194%20SURVEY.pdf 

The report was authored by the Environmental Health Directorate of the Western Australian Department of Health. It gauges current public opinion on environmental health risks in order to inform its strategic planning and ongoing decision making. The survey of 1710 people, aimed to identify existing and emerging environmental health concerns across different sections of the Western Australian community. The objectives were:
1. To describe the community’s perceptions of risk for a range of environmental health issues.

2. To compare perceptions of environmental health risks for the individual and their family with those of all Western Australians.

3. To compare perceptions by differing socio-economic characteristics, level of industrial activity and geographical locations.

4. To provide baseline data to enable perceptions of environmental health risk to be monitored over time.

5. To describe the community’s level of confidence in sources of information about environmental health.

6. To describe the community’s views on who has responsibility for managing environmental health and how well they are doing this.

7. To enable improvements in communication and decision making regarding environmental health issues.

The top three hazards perceived to be the highest risk to health for all Western Australians were passive smoking, water scarcity and sun exposure. Approximately two-thirds of respondents rated these hazards as a ‘high’ risk to health. The top three hazards perceived to be the highest risk to the health to the respondent and their family were: misuse of chemicals and poisons in the home and garden, food additives and germs in food. More than 20% of respondents rated these hazards as a ‘high’ risk to health.