PerceptiOn of risks and scientific LiterAcies related to ionizing RadiatIonS – POLARIS

There are many applications of ionizing radiation, for example medical uses. Exposure to ionizing radiation can have major consequences for human health. Nevertheless, exposure to ionizing radiation of the population is well below the accepted thresholds of harmfulness, and mostly comes from natural sources. However, despite the available epidemiological data and the protection or surveillance measures implemented, their effects on health and the environment are major sources of concern. Furthermore, the risks associated with these sources of radiation seem to be poorly known and difficult to assess, both by patients or health professionals concerned with the medical use of ionizing radiation technologies and by the general population. This lacks of knowledge and understanding of the effects of ionizing radiation may lead to negative issues: the rejection of diagnostic examinations or therapies involving radioactivity, emotional discomfort or anxiety during a medical procedure, inappropriate clinical decision, and poor physician-patient communication. In this context, the level of scientific literacy related to radiation could play an important role in the perceptions and decision-making processes associated with the use of these technologies, and more broadly in the public debate concerning the civil use of radioactive sources. Thus, the enhancement of the level of scientific literacy related to radiation among populations (patients, health professionals, general population) can be considered as an important societal issue, likely to enable citizens to participate in an informed and conscious manner in debates and choices related to scientific and technological topics. Polaris attempts to respond in part to these scientific and societal challenges by bringing together a multidisciplinary research consortium integrating researchers specializing in ionizing radiation (Team 1b), social representations applied to the field of health (Team 1a), perception of technological and environmental risks (Teams 4 and 5), scientific literacies and their evaluation (Team 2), epidemiology (Teams 3a and 3b) and educational devices for patients or caregivers (Team 1). These objectives are: 1) to develop a French scale for assessing scientific literacy related to ionizing radiation (WP 1) ; 2) to analyze and disentangle the relationships between the level of scientific literacy related to ionizing radiation, the perception of risks associated with various technologies, and acceptability in a sample of participants from the French population, by exploring the moderating role of the level of scientific literacy (WP 2) ; 3) to understand the role played by the cancer patients' level of scientific literacy in their perception and acceptability of various medical technologies using ionizing radiation (WP3) ; 4) to understand the role of scientific literacy in the prescribing and patient communication practices of health professionals regarding mammography (WP4) and 5) to develop and test devices aimed at developing scientific literacies related to ionizing radiation, among users (beneficiaries and prescribers) of medical technologies involving ionizing radiation (WP5). In a transversal way, Polaris will give particular attention to the impact of social determinants in the elaboration of perceptions of technologies using radiation sources and in the development of scientific literacies. More fundamentally, this project does not aim to convince people of the usefulness or necessity of these technologies, but rather to provide them with the means to form an opinion based on evidence and thus to participate in an informed way in the decisions that concern them.