Why public health should embrace the autonomous car Pettigrew, Simone
Australian and New Zealand journal of public health,
February 2017, 2017-Feb, 2017-02-00, 20170201, 2017-02-01, Letnik:
41, Številka:
1
Journal Article
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As the fleet of 56 Google self‐driving cars clocks up 1.5 million miles (about 2.5 million kilometres) around the United States, the rest of the world is gearing up for the advent of autonomous ...vehicles (AVs). Substantial investments are being made by both industry (primarily automotive and technology companies) and governments to achieve the enhancements in design and infrastructure that are required to permit large‐scale implementation. Cars are already being produced with a range of autonomous features including cruise control and assisted parking, braking, and lane‐keeping. These features are precursors to the full automation that is expected to ultimately typify private, public and commercial vehicles.The move to automation is occurring rapidly. In Australia, the first autonomous bus will be trialled by the RAC in Western Australia in 2016, and the Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative has published a timeline that anticipates progressive prototype testing and regulatory changes for the rest of this decade to pave the way for subsequent adoption of AVs by the general public. In her 2016 State Opening of Parliament speech, the Queen announced that in the coming year the UK will be “at the forefront of technology for new forms of transport, including autonomous and electric vehicles”. In the US, it is forecast that 75% of cars will be fully automated by 2040. Although AV usage will initially reflect the current dominant arrangement of private car ownership, the ‘end game’ is a fleet system that involves individuals summoning a vehicle when it is needed and releasing it to the fleet at the end of the trip so it is available for other users.
Front-of-Package labels (FoPLs) are efficient tools for increasing consumers' awareness of foods' nutritional quality and encouraging healthier choices. A label's design is likely to influence its ...effectiveness; however, few studies have compared the ability of different FoPLs to facilitate a consumer understanding of foods' nutritional quality, especially across sociocultural contexts. This study aimed to assess consumers' ability to understand five FoPLs Health Star Rating system (HSR), Multiple Traffic Lights (MTL), Nutri-Score, Reference Intakes (RIs), and Warning symbol in 12 different countries. In 2018, approximately 1000 participants per country were recruited and asked to rank three sets of label-free products (one set of three pizzas, one set of three cakes, and one set of three breakfast cereals) according to their nutritional quality, via an online survey. Participants were subsequently randomised to one of five FoPL conditions and were again asked to rank the same sets of products, this time with a FoPL displayed on pack. Changes in a participants' ability to correctly rank products across the two tasks were assessed by FoPL using ordinal logistic regression. In all 12 countries and for all three food categories, the Nutri-Score performed best, followed by the MTL, HSR, Warning symbol, and RIs.
The substantial public health benefits of autonomous vehicles will be optimised once all vehicles operate in autonomous mode. This form of disruptive technology will need to be widely accepted by the ...community to facilitate the regulatory and behavioural adjustments required to achieve rapid adoption. The aim of this study was to assess: i) receptiveness to autonomous vehicles; ii) the salience of various health benefits (e.g. crash prevention, emission reduction, driving stress reduction, cyclist safety, increased mobility for those unable to drive); and iii) prompted awareness of these health benefits.
Quantitative and qualitative data were generated via a national online survey of a broad range of Australians aged 16 years and over (n=1,624).
There were neutral levels of receptiveness and very low salience of health benefits, but more substantial levels of prompted awareness of positive health outcomes.
These results suggest that the public may be interested in information relating to the individual and societal health benefits of autonomous vehicles, which in turn may increase overall support for this innovation.
Australians are likely to be receptive to autonomous vehicles when provided with information relating to their public health benefits.
Consumers' perceptions of five front-of-pack nutrition label formats (health star rating (HSR), multiple traffic lights (MTL), Nutri-Score, reference intakes (RI) and warning label) were assessed ...across 12 countries (Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the USA). Perceptions assessed included liking, trust, comprehensibility, salience and desire for the label to be mandatory. A sample of 12,015 respondents completed an online survey in which they rated one of the five (randomly allocated) front-of-pack labels (FoPLs) along the perception dimensions described above. Respondents viewing the MTL provided the most favourable ratings. Perceptions of the other FoPLs were mixed or neutral. No meaningful or consistent patterns were observed in the interactions between country and FoPL type, indicating that culture was not a strong predictor of general perceptions. The overall ranking of the FoPLs differed somewhat from previous research assessing their objective performance in terms of enhancing understanding of product healthiness, in which the Nutri-Score was the clear front-runner. Respondents showed a strong preference for mandatory labelling, regardless of label condition, which is consistent with past research showing that the application of labels across all products leads to healthier choices.
Industry self-regulation is the dominant approach to managing alcohol advertising in Australia and many other countries. There is a need to explore the barriers to government adoption of more ...effective regulatory approaches. This study examined relevance and quality features of evidence cited by industry and non-industry actors in their submissions to Australian alcohol advertising policy consultations.
Submissions to two public consultations with a primary focus on alcohol advertising policy were analysed. Submissions (n = 71) were classified into their actor type (industry or non-industry) and according to their expressed support for, or opposition to, increased regulation of alcohol advertising. Details of cited evidence were extracted and coded against a framework adapted from previous research (primary codes: subject matter relevance, type of publication, time since publication, and independence from industry). Evidence was also classified as featuring indicators of higher quality if it was either published in a peer-reviewed journal or academic source, published within 10 years of the consultation, and/or had no apparent industry connection.
Almost two-thirds of submissions were from industry actors (n = 45 submissions from alcohol, advertising, or sporting industries). With few exceptions, industry actor submissions opposed increased regulation of alcohol advertising and non-industry actor submissions supported increased regulation. Industry actors cited substantially less evidence than non-industry actors, both per submission and in total. Only 27% of evidence cited by industry actors was highly relevant and featured at least two indicators of higher quality compared to 58% of evidence cited by non-industry actors.
Evaluation of the value of the evidentiary contribution of industry actors to consultations on alcohol advertising policy appears to be limited. Modifications to consultation processes, such as exclusion of industry actors, quality requirements for submitted evidence, minimum standards for referencing evidence, and requirements to declare potential conflicts, may improve the public health outcomes of policy consultations.
Switzerland, like other high-income countries, is facing a major public health challenge with the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases. Discussions are currently on-going in Switzerland ...regarding the implementation of a Front-of-Pack nutrition label (FoPL) as a public health measure to guide consumers towards healthier food choices, and the Nutri-Score represents an alternative supported by multiple actors. To date, no studies have investigated the performance of the Nutri-Score among Swiss consumers. This study aimed to compare the response of Swiss consumers to five FoPLs (Health Star Rating system, Multiple Traffic Lights, Nutri-Score, Reference Intakes and Warning symbol) in terms of perception and understanding of these labels and effects on food choices.
In 2019, 1,088 Swiss consumers were recruited and asked to select one product from among a set of three foods with different nutritional profiles and then classify the products within the sets according to their nutritional quality. Tasks were performed in situations without a label and then with one of the five FoPLs-depending on the group in which they were randomized-on the pack. Finally, participants were questioned on their perceptions regarding the label to which they were exposed.
All FoPLs were favorably perceived, with marginal differences between FoPLs. The Nutri-Score demonstrated the highest percentage of improvement in food choices and the highest overall performance in helping consumers rank the products according to their nutritional quality.
Overall, the Nutri-Score was the most efficient FoPL in informing Swiss consumers of the nutritional quality of food products, and as such could be a useful tool to improve food choices and reduce the burden of chronic diseases in Switzerland.
The harms associated with alcohol use in pregnancy make it vital for the community to be aware of the importance of abstinence during this phase of life. The aims of the present study were to assess ...(i) the effectiveness of a mass media campaign communicating the potential harms associated with consuming even small amounts of alcohol in pregnancy and (ii) changes in females’ intentions to abstain during pregnancy after campaign exposure.
Independent samples of ∼400 Western Australian adults of child-bearing age (18-45 years) were recruited at two time points (before and after the ‘One Drink’ campaign) to complete online evaluation surveys. Attitudinal and behavioural intention outcomes were assessed at both time points. Descriptive analyses and generalised linear models were used to assess potential campaign outcomes.
Three-quarters (76%) of the post-campaign sample members reported awareness of the campaign. In the descriptive analyses there were significant improvements in three of the seven attitudinal items. The regression models yielded significant increases in agreement that pregnant women should not drink alcohol (assessed among females and males) and intentions to abstain during pregnancy (assessed among females only).
The results indicate favourable understanding and behavioural intention effects from exposure to a campaign promoting alcohol abstinence during pregnancy. This study adds to the limited evidence that investment in such campaigns is likely to be a worthwhile approach to reduce the burden of alcohol-related harms to individuals and society.
Front-of-pack labels (FoPLs) are efficient tools for helping consumers identify healthier food products. Although discussions on nutritional labelling are currently ongoing in Europe, few studies ...have compared the effectiveness of FoPLs in European countries, including the Netherlands. This study aimed to compare five FoPLs among Dutch participants (the Health Star Rating (HSR) system, Multiple Traffic Lights (MTL), Nutri-Score, Reference Intakes (RIs), and Warning symbols) in terms of perception and understanding of the labels and food choices. In 2019, 1032 Dutch consumers were recruited and asked to select one product from among a set of three foods with different nutritional profiles, and then rank the products within the sets according to their nutritional quality. These tasks were performed with no label and then with one of the five FoPLs on the package, depending on the randomization arm. Finally, participants were questioned on their perceptions regarding the label to which they were exposed. Regarding perceptions, all FoPLs were favorably perceived but with only marginal differences between FoPLs. While no significant difference across labels was observed for food choices, the Nutri-Score demonstrated the highest overall performance in helping consumers rank the products according to their nutritional quality.
The effectiveness of Front-of-Pack nutrition Labels (FoPLs) may be influenced by national context. In light of the ongoing efforts to harmonize FoPLs across Europe, this study aimed to compare the ...effectiveness of five FoPLs (Health Star Rating system, Multiple Traffic Lights, Nutri-Score, Reference Intakes, Warning symbols) on consumer understanding and food choice in 12 European countries.
In 2018-2019, for three food categories, approximately 1000 participants per country were asked to select which food they would prefer to purchase between three products with distinct nutritional quality profiles, and then to rank the products by nutritional quality. Participants (N = 12,391 in total) completed these tasks first with no FoPL and then, after randomization to one of the five FoPLs, with a FoPL on the food packages. Associations between FoPLs and change in (i) nutritional quality of food choices and (ii) ability to correctly rank the products by nutritional quality were assessed with logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics of participants, conducted overall and by country.
Compared with the Reference Intakes, the Nutri-Score (OR = 3.232.75-3.81; p < 0.0001), followed by the Multiple Traffic Lights (OR = 1.681.42-1.98; p < 0.0001), was the most effective FoPL in helping consumers identify the foods' nutritional quality, overall and in each of the 12 countries. Differences between FoPLs regarding food choice modifications were smaller, but the effect of the Nutri-Score seemed slightly higher in eliciting healthier food choices overall compared with the Reference Intakes, followed by the Warning symbols, the Multiple Traffic Lights and the Health Star Rating system.
In the context of FoPL harmonization in Europe, these findings from an online experiment provide insights into the Nutri-Score's effectiveness on European consumers.
Reducing consumption of free sugars, such as those found in high concentrations in manufactured products such as sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and 100% fruit juices, is a global public health ...priority. This study aimed to measure prevalence of widely available pre-packaged non-alcoholic water-based beverages (carbonated sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks, artificially-sweetened sodas, fruit juices (any type), and bottled water) and to comprehensively examine behavioral, environmental, current health, and demographic correlates of consumption. A cross-sectional, nationally-representative population survey of 3430 Australian adults (18+ years) was conducted using computer-assisted telephone (mobile and landline) interviewing. Past week prevalence of pre-packaged drinks containing free sugar was 47.3%; daily prevalence was 13.6%. Of all the pre-packaged drinks assessed, consumption of fruit juices (any type) was the most prevalent (38.8%), followed by bottled water (37.4%), soda (28.9%), artificially-sweetened soda (18.1%), sports drinks (8.1%), and energy drinks (4.2%). Higher soda consumption was associated with males, younger age, socio-economic disadvantage, frequent takeaway food consumption, availability of soda in the home, obesity, and a diagnosis of heart disease or depression. A diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes was associated with increased likelihood of consuming artificially-sweetened sodas and decreased likelihood of consuming sugar-sweetened soda. SSB consumption is prevalent in Australia, especially among young adults and males, foreshadowing continued population weight gain and high burdens of chronic disease. To reduce consumption, Australia must take a comprehensive approach, incorporating policy reform, effective community education, and active promotion of water.
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