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Individual risk perception vs. reality : the case of alpine winter sports
Type
presentation
Date Issued
2010-06-21
Author(s)
Abstract
More than a quarter of sports accidents occur in alpine winter sports activities every year. Effective prevention programs against injuries and accidents are therefore of major interest even though several programs have been launched in the last few years. But the risky behaviour of some people and the courses of many on- and off-piste accidents bring up the question: Has the average alpine winter "sportsman" enough knowledge to self-evaluate injury risks and does he adopt his driving behaviour to certain environmental conditions? The state of risk awareness was evaluated in five European countries through an online survey in September 2009 among 3.989 skiers and snowboarders from Austria, Croatia, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
The results were examined by a cross-national and country-specific approach to draw out major differences in between. Besides demographic data (i.e. gender, age, skill level) risk related information (e.g. individual risk attitude, usage of injury protection equipment) are included in the analysis of self-reported patterns regarding e.g. body injury locations, dangerous slope areas and various risk factors as snow, weather and sight conditions. We compared findings of the survey then with other winter sport-related studies and discussed final results with an expert panel, which contained opinion leaders from hospitals, insurance companies, safety councils and national ski federations.
Based on this study it can be explored how risk perception differs between specific groups of people and weather those under/overestimate risks. The results may provide valuable input for identification of risk profiles and target-group specific communication of prevention strategies.
The results were examined by a cross-national and country-specific approach to draw out major differences in between. Besides demographic data (i.e. gender, age, skill level) risk related information (e.g. individual risk attitude, usage of injury protection equipment) are included in the analysis of self-reported patterns regarding e.g. body injury locations, dangerous slope areas and various risk factors as snow, weather and sight conditions. We compared findings of the survey then with other winter sport-related studies and discussed final results with an expert panel, which contained opinion leaders from hospitals, insurance companies, safety councils and national ski federations.
Based on this study it can be explored how risk perception differs between specific groups of people and weather those under/overestimate risks. The results may provide valuable input for identification of risk profiles and target-group specific communication of prevention strategies.
Language
English
Keywords
risk perception
prevention
alpine winter sports
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SoM - Business Innovation
Refereed
No
Event Title
Society of Risk Analysis (SRA), Europe Annual Meeting
Event Location
London (UK)
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
64641