Perceptions of drinking water quality and risk and its effect on behaviour: A cross-national study

Miguel de França Doria; Nick Pidgeon; Paul R. Hunter

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.06.031

Perceptions of drinking water quality and risk and its effect on behaviour: A cross-national study

Miguel de França Doria^*, Nick Pidgeon, Paul R. Hunter

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

241 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

There is a growing effort to provide drinking water that has the trust of consumers, but the processes underlying the perception of drinking water quality and risks are still not fully understood. This paper intends to explore the factors involved in public perception of the quality and risks of drinking water. This purpose was addressed with a cross-national mixed-method approach, based on quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus groups) data collected in the UK and Portugal. The data were analysed using several methods, including structural equation models and generalised linear models. Results suggest that perceptions of water quality and risk result from a complex interaction of diverse factors. The estimation of water quality is mostly influenced by satisfaction with organoleptic properties (especially flavour), risk perception, contextual cues, and perceptions of chemicals (lead, chlorine, and hardness). Risk perception is influenced by organoleptics, perceived water chemicals, external information, past health problems, and trust in water suppliers, among other factors. The use of tap and bottled water to drink was relatively well explained by regression analysis. Several cross-national differences were found and the implications are discussed. Suggestions for future research are provided.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	5455-5464
Number of pages	10
Journal	Science of the Total Environment, The
Volume	407
Issue number	21
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.06.031
Publication status	Published - 15 Oct 2009
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Our sincere gratitude goes to Dr. Susan Wilkinson, Dr. Kat Haynes, Tom Lowe, Dr. Carl Macrae, and other friends at the School of Environmental Sciences, for their help and constructive discussions. This research was funded by the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, and the British Council (Chevening Programme); additional support came from the Leverhulme Trust (Programme on Understanding Risk F/00 204/E) and the European Science Foundation (for the participation of M. Doria in the QMSS Workshop/Seminar on 'Theory and Practice in the Analysis of Cross-National Cross-Sectional Data', held at University of Oxford, August 2005).

Keywords

Bottled water
Drinking water
Organoleptics
Quality perception
Risk perception
Tap water

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10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.06.031

Cite this

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title = "Perceptions of drinking water quality and risk and its effect on behaviour: A cross-national study",

abstract = "There is a growing effort to provide drinking water that has the trust of consumers, but the processes underlying the perception of drinking water quality and risks are still not fully understood. This paper intends to explore the factors involved in public perception of the quality and risks of drinking water. This purpose was addressed with a cross-national mixed-method approach, based on quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus groups) data collected in the UK and Portugal. The data were analysed using several methods, including structural equation models and generalised linear models. Results suggest that perceptions of water quality and risk result from a complex interaction of diverse factors. The estimation of water quality is mostly influenced by satisfaction with organoleptic properties (especially flavour), risk perception, contextual cues, and perceptions of chemicals (lead, chlorine, and hardness). Risk perception is influenced by organoleptics, perceived water chemicals, external information, past health problems, and trust in water suppliers, among other factors. The use of tap and bottled water to drink was relatively well explained by regression analysis. Several cross-national differences were found and the implications are discussed. Suggestions for future research are provided.",

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note = "Funding Information: Our sincere gratitude goes to Dr. Susan Wilkinson, Dr. Kat Haynes, Tom Lowe, Dr. Carl Macrae, and other friends at the School of Environmental Sciences, for their help and constructive discussions. This research was funded by the Funda{\c c}{\~a}o Calouste Gulbenkian, and the British Council (Chevening Programme); additional support came from the Leverhulme Trust (Programme on Understanding Risk F/00 204/E) and the European Science Foundation (for the participation of M. Doria in the QMSS Workshop/Seminar on 'Theory and Practice in the Analysis of Cross-National Cross-Sectional Data', held at University of Oxford, August 2005).",

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N2 - There is a growing effort to provide drinking water that has the trust of consumers, but the processes underlying the perception of drinking water quality and risks are still not fully understood. This paper intends to explore the factors involved in public perception of the quality and risks of drinking water. This purpose was addressed with a cross-national mixed-method approach, based on quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus groups) data collected in the UK and Portugal. The data were analysed using several methods, including structural equation models and generalised linear models. Results suggest that perceptions of water quality and risk result from a complex interaction of diverse factors. The estimation of water quality is mostly influenced by satisfaction with organoleptic properties (especially flavour), risk perception, contextual cues, and perceptions of chemicals (lead, chlorine, and hardness). Risk perception is influenced by organoleptics, perceived water chemicals, external information, past health problems, and trust in water suppliers, among other factors. The use of tap and bottled water to drink was relatively well explained by regression analysis. Several cross-national differences were found and the implications are discussed. Suggestions for future research are provided.

AB - There is a growing effort to provide drinking water that has the trust of consumers, but the processes underlying the perception of drinking water quality and risks are still not fully understood. This paper intends to explore the factors involved in public perception of the quality and risks of drinking water. This purpose was addressed with a cross-national mixed-method approach, based on quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus groups) data collected in the UK and Portugal. The data were analysed using several methods, including structural equation models and generalised linear models. Results suggest that perceptions of water quality and risk result from a complex interaction of diverse factors. The estimation of water quality is mostly influenced by satisfaction with organoleptic properties (especially flavour), risk perception, contextual cues, and perceptions of chemicals (lead, chlorine, and hardness). Risk perception is influenced by organoleptics, perceived water chemicals, external information, past health problems, and trust in water suppliers, among other factors. The use of tap and bottled water to drink was relatively well explained by regression analysis. Several cross-national differences were found and the implications are discussed. Suggestions for future research are provided.

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Perceptions of drinking water quality and risk and its effect on behaviour: A cross-national study

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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