Qualitative analysis of data
The 10 regions of Italy in dark blue in Figure 1 (Campania, Lombardy, Sardinia, Calabria, Puglia, Veneto, Tuscany, Piedmont, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Sicily) correspond to the 10 regions where more than 150 studies have been carried out. To do. Here are the INFN sections directly involved in the RadioLab project: Naples, Milan, Cagliari, Cosenza, Lecce, Padova, Pisa, Turin, Trieste and Catania. The light blue regions in Figure 1 (Valle d’Aosta, Trentino-Alto Adige, Liguria, Marche, Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, Abruzzo, Molise) are not directly involved by the INFN department, but have administered fewer doses. . Over 100 surveys. This aspect shows the extent of his RadioLab in the dissemination of scientific culture on the subject of knowledge of environmental radioactivity, especially radon gas. Of interest are the two sky blue regions in Figure 1. 144 (Basilicata) and 149 (Lazio) studies were carried out, which are significantly influenced by the adjacent region where the INFN section is located. Exists. The region with the most investigations was Campania (14,972), followed closely by Tuscany (3,373) and Calabria (3,062).
“Do you know about radon gas?” The survey will be conducted by region. This map was created with Microsoft Excel 2016 version number 16.78 (https://office.microsoft.com/excel).
From Figure 2, it is clear that there is an almost perfect gender balance between different age groups and education level groups. The highest proportion of interviewees (49%) were young (< 19), decreasing with increasing age (Figure 2a). This aspect is due to the fact that RadioLab is primarily designed for school-age interviewees, and as can be seen in Figure 2b, the primary/secondary school diploma is the most frequently obtained educational level ( This is confirmed by the fact that 59%). ). As the level of education increases, the number of interviewees decreases (Figure 2b).
The number and proportion of men (color of wood) and women (color of jeans) who answered the questionnaire “Do you know about radon gas?” were managed and categorized as follows: (be) Age of interviewee (<19 years, 19–30 years, 30–50 years, 50 years and above). (b) Educational level of the interviewee (elementary school/middle school graduate, high school graduate, university graduate).
The survey “Do you know about radon gas?” was conducted in the simplest manner, mainly in online mode (57%), and secondly during seminars at scientific events (23%) and schools/universities (20%). carried out (Figure 3a). Most of the responses (46%) were collected in his 2020 within the implementation period of the survey “Do you know about radon gas?” Such a high value can actually be explained by the promulgation of Law D in 2020. .lgs1017 2013/59/Euratom implementation8, which sets out basic safety standards for protection against risks arising from exposure to ionizing radiation. In particular, the issue of radon exposure has been addressed by proposing a National Radon Action Plan and fixing the standard level at 300 Bq/m.3. D.lgs 101/2020 has brought significant public attention to the radon issue, and this fact explains the increase in responses to the “Do you know about radon gas?” survey. in 202012. The early years of 2018 (14%) and 2019 (27%) were also productive, testifying to the growing interest in the radon issue (Figure 3b). There was a notable decline in survey implementation in 2021 (3%) and 2022 (10%), primarily due to the peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic.13 (Figure 3b).
“Do you know about radon gas?” Number and percentage of questionnaires: (be) The scenario in which the study was conducted (event, online, school/university), (b) years (2018-2022).
Figure 4 provides a more detailed analysis of the annual percentage of “scenarios surveyed” questions. First, Figure 4 highlights the current means of conducting surveys (events and schools/universities) as the main methods used in the early years before COVID-19. 69% in 2018 and increased in 2019. It is 87%. Due to COVID-19, from 2020 to 2022, the primary method of conducting surveys will be online, with approximately 83% in 2020 and 2021 and up to 95% in 2022. have become.13.
Percentage of annual (2018-2022) questions related to the survey “Do you know about radon gas?” “Scenarios in which the survey was conducted” (blue: event, orange: online, gray: school/university).
The overall qualitative analysis indicates the statistical significance of the samples used.
Quantitative analysis of data
A quantitative and detailed statistical analysis of 28,612 data obtained from the “Do you know about radon gas?” questionnaire. Shown below. In total, 39% of interviewees said they knew about radon gas. Figure 5 shows the percentage of interviewees who know or do not know about radon gas, combined by gender and age. This analysis highlights several aspects. (i) Men have more knowledge about radon (on average, 40% for men and 37% for women). (ii) The difference between men and women in knowledge about radon is small (approximately 3%) in the 19–30, 30–50, and 50+ age groups, but more pronounced in the under 19 years ( 7%). ); (iii) Knowledge about radon remains fairly constant (approximately 45%) in the 19-30, 30-50, and 50+ age groups, but clearly decreases in younger age groups under 19 (about 32%).14.
Bar chart combining knowledge about radon gas by gender (green = yes, black = no) and age of interviewees (under 19, 19-30, 30-50, 50+) .
Figure 6 shows the percentage of interviewees who know or do not know about radon gas, by education level. This analysis highlights the clear influence of education level on knowledge of radon issues. Interviewees’ knowledge about radon grows as their education level increases.15. In particular: (i) The number of interviewees who know about radon is slightly higher for those with a high school education level than for those with an elementary school/middle school education level (2 % difference). (ii) Most of the interviewees with the highest education level, i.e. a university degree, know about radon (56%), more than 20% more than the two lowest education levels.
Bar graph showing the percentage of knowledge about radon by education level (elementary school/middle school graduate, high school graduate, college graduate) (green = “yes”, black = “no”).
Figure 7 shows the percentage of radon knowledge by source of interviewees who declared knowing about radon gas, combined by age. This analysis revealed that interviewees who were aware of radon gas: (i) Participation from the project decreases with increasing age (from 31% to 17%). (ii) Newspaper/TV/Web increases with age (26% to 43%). (ii) Expenses from trade shows, orientation events, and other sources remain constant (approximately 5% from events and approximately 37% from other sources). The project is mainly popular among school-aged people (under 19 years old), and indeed RadioLab is primarily designed for students to raise awareness of the subject of radon gas. Older adults cite newspapers/TV/web as the most common media for gaining knowledge about radon gas.
Percentage of interviewees’ radon knowledge by source (red for projects, purple for newspaper/TV/web, ocher for events, brown for others) and age (under 19, 19-30, 30-50) , > 50).
Figure 8 shows the percentage of interviewees by age who are considering three options for measuring radon in their city: urgent, non-urgent, and don’t know. This analysis shows that: (i) Responses of thinking it is urgent or not sure whether it is urgent increases as the age of the respondent increases. (ii) As interviewees get older, they consider it less urgent to measure radon in their city.As adults become more aware of the potential risks of radon, they become more aware of radon issues.14.
Percentage of interviewees by age (<19 years, 19-30 years, 30-50 years, 50 years and above) who answered the question “Do you think it is urgent to measure radon in your city?” Bar graph showing. (“Yes” for Lime, “I don’t know” for Gold, “No” for Silver).
Figure 9 shows the percentage of interviewees by education level who are considering three options for measuring radon in their city: urgent, non-urgent, and don’t know. This analysis highlights the following points: (i) As the education level of the interviewees increases, they consider it urgent or are unsure whether it is urgent or not. (ii) As the education level of interviewees increases, their tendency to think that radon measurements in their area are not urgent decreases. Similar considerations from Figure 8 can be translated into Figure 9, which shows that awareness of radon issues increases with education level. Combining the results from Figures 3 and 4 yields the following: Figures 8 and 9 show that knowledge about issues related to radon exposure in the environment is strongly associated with people’s educational level and therefore with their age.14, 15. However, it is interesting to note that the proportion of people who do not consider radon testing urgent in their city is consistently less than half of each group of interviewees by age and education level.
Bar graph showing the percentage of interviewees (elementary school/middle school graduate, high school graduate, college graduate) who answered the question “Do you think radon measurements are urgent in your city?” by educational attainment. (“Yes” for Lime, “I don’t know” for Gold, “No” for Silver).
The final part of the quantitative statistical analysis is reported in the last two figures, namely Figure 10 and Figure 11. Figure 10 shows a bar graph of the responses to the key question “Do you know about radon?” compared to the responses to that question. “Do you think it is urgent to measure radon in your city?” Most interviewees familiar with the topic of radon said that gas testing is urgently needed (51%). Meanwhile, the small number of interviewees was almost evenly split between those who had doubts and those who were not concerned about radon measurements. The situation is completely different if the interviewee is not familiar with radon issues. (i) Half of them are unsure whether radon control in their city is urgent (50%). (ii) The other half is divided into 30% who do not want to measure radon in their city and 20% who want to measure it. This means that knowledge about a topic, whatever it is (in this case radon), increases awareness of that topic and everything related to it (in the case of radon: risk awareness), whereas knowledge about a topic in general Ignorance is important because of the fact that it increases.create anxiety and uncertainty16.
Bar chart showing the percentage of interviewees who knew or did not know about radon gas in response to the question “Do you think it is urgent to measure radon in your city?” (“Yes” for Lime, “I don’t know” for Gold, “No” for Silver).
Trends by age among interviewees who answered “yes” to the question “Do you know about radon?” (gray line for those under 19 years old, yellow line for 19-30 years old, blue line for 30-50 years old) line, >50 years is orange line). From 2018 to 2022.
Figure 11 depicts the trends in knowledge of radon by age of interviewees during the implementation period of the “Do you know about radon gas?” survey from 2018 to 2022. Knowledge about radon has increased over the years, mainly among the interviewees. This figure shows the real effectiveness of the scientific dissemination on the topic of radon promoted by RadioLab, mainly for the students targeted by the project. In the age group 19-30 years, especially in her 30-50 years and adults over 50 years, the increase in knowledge about radon can also be related to the promulgation of D.lgs 101/2020.7It sets out basic safety standards for protection against hazards arising from exposure to ionizing radiation, especially radon exposure (“Qualitative analysis of data” and Figure 4).