Public health concerns, risk perception and information sources in Cameroon

Figures & data

Table 1. Socio-demographic characteristics of all participants (N = 1,067)

Variables	N (%)
Gender
Women	557 (52.2)
Men	510 (47.8)
Age (years) mean ± SD	37.2 ± 10.3
20–29	274 (25.7)
30–39	368 (34.5)
40–49	277 (26.0)
≥50	148 (13.87)
Education
≤Primary school	183 (17.2)
Secondary school	270 (25.3)
High school	206 (19.3)
≥University	408 (38.2)
Regions
AD	54 (5.1)
CE	200 (18.7)
ES	55 (5.2)
EN	194 (18.2)
LT	150 (14.1)
NO	105 (9.8)
NW	95 (8.9)
WE	82 (7.7)
SU	31 (2.9)
SW	101 (9.5)
Income ($USD) (monthly)
100	473 (44.3)
101–499	218 (20.4)
500–999	266 (24.9)
≥1,000	110 (10.3)

Notes: AD (Adamawa), CE (Centre), ES (East), EN (Extreme North), LT (Littoral), NO (North), NW (North West), WE (West), SU (South), SW (South West).

Table 2. Mean scores (SD) for general selected health risk perception in Cameroon (N = 1,067)

Risk factors	Personal risk mean (SD)	Overall mean (SD)	Personal knowledge mean (SD)	Risk known to science mean (SD)	Controllability mean (SD)	Seriousness to future generation mean (SD)	Outrage mean (SD)	Accountability of the government mean (SD)
HIV/AIDS	6.58 (1.12)	5.51 (0.78)	5.99 (1.11)	6.31 (1.06)	4.03 (1.85)	5.58 (1.21)	5.77 (1.21)	4.32 (1.86)
Natural disaster (flood, landslide, etc.)	6.50 (0.88)	5.30 (0.71)	6.47 (0.98)	6.19 (0.87)	3.26 (1.80)	5.67 (1.11)	5.25 (1.52)	3.80 (2.02)
Terrorism	6.34 (1.17)	5.82 (0.51)	6.69 (0.76)	6.39 (0.82)	3.15 (1.38)	6.73 (0.64)	6.07 (1.51)	5.39 (1.50)
Unprotected sex	6.29 (1.13)	5.50 (0.69)	6.20 (0.87)	6.24 (1.03)	3.01 (1.46)	5.85 (1.37)	5.69 (1.29)	5.26 (1.97)
Unemployment	6.25 (0.82)	5.51 (0.66)	6.47 (0.76)	6.27 (1.42)	3.18 (1.24)	5.91 (1.87)	5.72 (1.08)	4.77 (1.55)
Drinking alcohol	6.21 (1.22)	5.36 (0.78)	5.83 (1.05)	5.92 (1.44)	3.78 (1.69)	5.31 (1.85)	5.73 (1.00)	4.75 (2.01)
Street crime	6.21 (0.83)	5.07 (0.53)	6.37 (0.94)	5.16 (1.04)	2.89 (1.49)	6.16 (0.93)	5.28 (1.29)	3.42 (1.72)
Cigarette smoking	6.17 (0.72)	5.41 (0.65)	6.08 (0.89)	6.11 (1.06)	3.72 (1.84)	6.35 (0.72)	5.44 (1.82)	4.02 (2.03)
Poverty	6.08 (0.92)	5.29 (0.61)	6.58 (0.69)	5.94 (1.39)	3.28 (1.52)	5.84 (0.83)	5.64 (1.47)	3.67 (2.03)
Malaria	6.05 (1.24)	5.44 (0.57)	6.51 (0.94)	6.37 (0.94)	3.17 (1.29)	6.07 (1.22)	5.62 (1.40)	4.31 (1.58)
Cholera	6.02 (0.94)	5.30 (0.61)	6.51 (0.96)	5.25 (1.26)	3.47 (1.77)	6.32 (0.84)	5.65 (1.47)	3.92 (1.92)
Motorcycle accident	5.90 (0.89)	5.15 (0.69)	6.35 (0.83)	5.54 (1.74)	3.17 (1.31)	5.89 (1.17)	5.63 (1.39)	3.59 (2.11)
Medical malpractice	5.88 (1.23)	4.83 (0.65)	4.46 (1.85)	5.60 (1.04)	3.36 (1.47)	5.29 (1.52)	5.36 (1.49)	3.88 (2.04)
Tap water	5.78 (1.04)	4.92 (0.56)	5.70 (1.08)	5.48 (1.08)	2.96 (1.46)	5.59 (1.29)	5.18 (1.35)	3.72 (2.13)
Climate change	5.65 (1.57)	5.31 (0.63)	5.76 (1.41)	5.95 (1.23)	3.01 (1.24)	6.15 (1.13)	5.73 (1.03)	4.90 (2.11)
Car accident	5.61 (1.15)	5.27 (0.61)	6.22 (1.04)	5.96 (1.15)	3.42 (1.60)	6.13 (0.90)	5.46 (1.65)	4.08 (1.77)
Influenza	5.59 (1.30)	5.23 (0.91)	5.68 (1.44)	5.65 (1.66)	4.01 (1.24)	5.29 (1.84)	5.33 (1.81)	5.08 (1.71)
High voltage power lines	5.57 (1.04)	4.76 (0.73)	4.58 (1.19)	4.69 (1.64)	3.68 (1.32)	5.64 (1.23)	5.39 (1.71)	3.73 (1.99)
Polio	5.56 (1.26)	5.24 (0.72)	5.72 (1.35)	6.32 (0.97)	2.94 (1.29)	5.16 (2.07)	5.52 (1.43)	5.46 (1.87)
Vaccines accident	5.55 (1.39)	5.26 (0.68)	5.50 (1.34)	6.06 (1.31)	3.53 (1.60)	5.40 (1.13)	5.76 (1.12)	5.04 (1.97)
Air pollution	5.26 (1.41)	5.14 (0.60)	5.32 (1.74)	5.33 (1.25)	3.66 (1.57)	6.14 (1.07)	5.44 (1.69)	4.82 (1.69)
Chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer, etc.)	5.13 (1.41)	5.23 (0.91)	5.25 (1.48)	5.71 (0.96)	5.09 (1.60)	6.32 (0.99)	5.22 (2.17)	3.93 (1.73)
Measles	5.06 (1.90)	4.96 (0.71)	5.01 (1.56)	5.43 (2.44)	3.12 (1.38)	5.40 (1.90)	5.24 (1.60)	5.44 (1.68)
Female genital mutilation	4.90 (1.50)	4.75 (0.82)	5.50 (1.80)	5.63 (1.55)	3.08 (1.49)	4.95 (1.60)	5.19 (1.43)	4.03 (2.21)
Natural (traditional) health product	4.70 (1.43)	4.79 (0.72)	5.86 (1.44)	5.20 (1.50)	3.07 (1.33)	5.30 (1.45)	5.23 (1.62)	4.14 (1.80)
Total mean (SD)	5.79 (1.18)	5.21 (0.68)	5.86 (1.17)	5.79 (1.27)	3.40 (1.49)	5.78 (1.28)	5.52 (1.46)	4.38 (1.88)

Notes: Mean ± standard deviation.

Independent variable: Personal risk (ranked in descending order); Dependent variables: Psychometric variables (Personal knowledge, Risk known to science, Controllability, Seriousness to future generation, Outrage and Accountability of the government); Overall Mean (SD): the combination of the psychometric variables.

Table 3. Mean scores (SD) differences of health risk based on gender among Cameroonians (N = 1,067)

Risk factors	Perceived risk score		Mean differences	p-value*
	Female mean (SD)	Male mean (SD)
Unemployment	5.75 (0.80)	5.24 (0.65)	0.51	<0.001
Chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer, etc.)	5.47 (0.97)	4.97 (0.76)	0.50	<0.001
High voltage power lines	4.97 (0.77)	4.53 (0.62)	0.44	<0.001
Natural (traditional) health product	4.97 (0.74)	4.60 (0.65)	0.37	<0.001
Influenza	5.40 (0.92)	5.04 (0.85)	0.36	0.023
Vaccines accident	5.41 (0.67)	5.10 (0.64)	0.31	<0.001
Poverty	5.43 (0.61)	5.13 (0.57)	0.30	<0.001
Unprotected sex	5.63 (0.68)	5.35 (0.67)	0.28	0.044
Drinking alcohol	5.49 (0.77)	5.22 (0.77)	0.27	0.581
Natural disaster (flood, landslide, etc.)	5.42 (0.71)	5.17 (0.68)	0.25	0.602
HIV/AIDS	5.62 (0.66)	5.38 (0.64)	0.24	0.073
Female genital mutilation	4.87 (0.81)	4.63 (0.82)	0.24	0.567
Motorcycle accident	5.25 (0.63)	5.04 (0.73)	0.21	0.433
Cigarette smoking	5.51 (0.63)	5.31 (0.66)	0.20	0.468
Medical malpractice	4.92 (0.63)	4.73 (0.65)	0.19	0.002
Measles	5.05 (0.57)	4.86 (0.82)	0.19	<0.001
Air pollution	5.23 (0.57)	5.05 (0.62)	0.18	0.035
Polio	5.31 (0.67)	5.16 (0.76)	0.15	0.016
Climate change	5.38 (0.56)	5.24 (0.70)	0.14	<0.001
Malaria	5.50 (0.51)	5.36 (0.61)	0.14	<0.001
Car accident	5.33 (0.54)	5.20 (0.67)	0.13	<0.001
Street crime	5.11 (0.50)	5.02 (0.56)	0.09	<0.001
Terrorism	5.84 (0.45)	5.79 (0.56)	0.05	<0.001
Cholera	5.31 (0.56)	5.28 (0.66)	0.03	<0.001
Tap water	4.92 (0.53)	4.92 (0.58)	0.00	0.118
Total Mean (SD)	5.32 (0.66)	5.09 (0.68)	0.23	0.247

* By t-test. Mean ± standard deviation (SD).

Table 4. Mean scores (SD) differences of health risk based on age groups among Cameroonians (1,067)

Risk factors	Age group (years)				Mean differences	p-value*
	20–29 Mean (SD)	30–39 Mean (SD)	40–49 Mean (SD)	≥50 Mean (SD)
High voltage power lines	4.78 (0.73)	4.82 (0.74)	4.63 (0.69)	5.48 (0.69)	0.85	0.103
Vaccines accident	5.25 (0.66)	5.26 (0.66)	5.22 (0.68)	5.86 (0.45)	0.64	0.921
Terrorism	5.84 (0.49)	5.79 (0.51)	5.87 (0.45)	5.29 (0.62)	0.58	0.552
Female genital mutilation	4.78 (0.78)	4.75 (0.86)	4.66 (0.87)	5.23 (0.62)	0.57	0.647
Motorcycle accident	5.14 (0.67)	5.16 (0.64)	5.13 (0.63)	4.67 (0.87)	0.49	0.970
Tap water	4.90 (0.57)	4.92 (0.56)	4.93 (0.53)	5.33 (0.80)	0.43	0.322
Measles	4.92 (0.64)	4.96 (0.63)	4.92 (0.62)	4.63 (0.70)	0.33	0.540
Car accident	5.26 (0.63)	5.26 (0.60)	5.23 (0.63)	4.93 (0.62)	0.33	0.815
Cholera	5.30 (0.63)	5.32 (0.57)	5.31 (0.62)	5.02 (0.49)	0.30	0.648
Drinking alcohol	5.35 (0.80)	5.38 (0.76)	5.35 (0.78)	5.12 (0.62)	0.26	0.860
Influenza	5.22 (0.91)	5.20 (0.90)	5.32 (0.84)	5.45 (0.75)	0.25	0.516
Air pollution	5.12 (0.63)	5.15 (0.60)	5.05 (0.55)	4.90 (0.53)	0.25	0.128
Climate change	5.33 (0.62)	5.33 (0.65)	5.25 (0.57)	5.49 (0.83)	0.24	0.220
Unemployment	5.48 (0.80)	5.52 (0.78)	5.50 (0.79)	5.28 (0.57)	0.22	0.796
Unprotected sex	5.50 (0.67)	5.50 (0.69)	5.44 (0.75)	5.28 (0.77)	0.22	0.912
Cigarette smoking	5.43 (0.68)	5.41 (0.63)	5.39 (0.65)	5.21 (0.74)	0.22	0.971
HIV/AIDS	5.53 (0.65)	5.49 (0.68)	5.50 (0.67)	5.29 (0.87)	0.21	0.571
Poverty	5.29 (0.62)	5.31(0.59)	5.20 (0.59)	5.40 (0.56)	0.20	0.421
Polio	5.25 (0.72)	5.21 (0.71)	5.20 (0.76)	5.07 (0.54)	0.18	0.599
Street crime	5.08 (0.54)	5.06 (0.53)	5.03 (0.47)	5.20 (0.59)	0.17	0.480
Natural (traditional) health product	4.79 (0.74)	4.82 (0.68)	4.67 (0.79)	4.79 (0.62)	0.15	0.324
Medical malpractice	4.82 (0.65)	4.81 (0.67)	4.79 (0.63)	4.69 (0.79)	0.13	0.588
Natural disaster (flood, landslide, eruption)	5.30 (0.71)	5.34 (0.67)	5.30 (0.76)	5.22 (0.68)	0.12	0.453
Malaria	5.41 (0.58)	5.47 (0.55)	5.41 (0.55)	5.39 (0.65)	0.08	0.576
Chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer, etc.)	5.27 (0.93)	5.22 (0.93)	5.19 (0.84)	5.19 (0.85)	0.08	0.946
Total mean (SD)	5.21 (0.68)	5.22 (0.67)	5.23 (0.69)	4.69 (0.79)	0.54	0.595

* By ANOVA. Mean ± standard deviation.

Table 5. Mean scores (SD) differences of health risk based on education level among Cameroonians (N = 1,067)

Risk factor	Education				Mean differences	p-value*
	≤Primary school mean (SD)	Secondary mean (SD)	High School mean (SD)	≥University mean (SD)
Poverty	5.15 (0.69)	5.30 (0.63)	5.33 (0.60)	5.27 (0.61)	0.18	0.356
Unprotected sex	5.65 (0.66)	5.53 (0.68)	5.48 (0.68)	5.47 (0.71)	0.17	0.341
Drinking alcohol	5.43 (0.73)	5.45 (0.70)	5.29 (0.80)	5.31 (0.82)	0.16	0.151
Polio	5.36 (0.71)	5.27 (0.72)	5.24 (0.69)	5.20 (0.74)	0.16	0.478
Unemployment	5.41 (0.77)	5.56 (0.75)	5.49 (0.81)	5.51 (0.79)	0.15	0.641
Vaccines accident	5.35 (0.65)	5.33 (0.65)	5.20 (0.66)	5.25 (0.70)	0.15	0.167
Cigarette smoking	5.54 (0.63)	5.41 (0.64)	5.40 (0.63)	5.40 (0.67)	0.14	0.708
High voltage power lines	4.84 (0.70)	4.81 (0.74)	4.70 (0.78)	4.74 (0.72)	0.14	0.477
Climate change	5.40 (0.68)	5.33 (0.60)	5.31 (0.65)	5.27 (0.65)	0.13	0.242
Street crime	5.00 (0.59)	5.12 (0.52)	5.04 (0.58)	5.07 (0.51)	0.12	0.436
Car accident	5.37 (0.63)	5.28 (0.57)	5.25 (0.62)	5.25 (0.63)	0.12	0.715
Chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer)	5.26 (0.93)	5.31 (0.89)	5.19 (0.94)	5.19 (0.92)	0.12	0.518
Air pollution	5.10 (0.64)	5.12 (0.61)	5.21 (0.61)	5.14 (0.60)	0.11	0.480
Measles	5.03 (0.63)	4.98 (0.63)	4.96 (0.63)	4.94 (0.83)	0.09	0.902
Natural (traditional) health products	4.85 (0.65)	4.81 (0.73)	4.76 (0.74)	4.78 (0.73)	0.09	0.890
Motorcycle accident	5.11 (0.75)	5.15 (0.65)	5.19 (0.77)	5.15 (0.67)	0.08	0.772
Medical malpractice	4.88 (0.54)	4.85 (0.63)	4.83 (0.67)	4.80 (0.67)	0.08	0.798
Influenza	5.20 (0.99)	5.24 (0.91)	5.26 (0.90)	5.24 (0.90)	0.06	0.902
Malaria infection	5.42 (0.59)	5.47 (0.54)	5.43 (0.62)	5.42 (0.55)	0.05	0.884
Cholera	5.23 (0.57)	5.34 (0.63)	5.26 (0.64)	5.28 (0.61)	0.05	0.461
Natural disaster (flood, landslide, eruption)	5.28 (0.69)	5.31 (0.68)	5.30 (0.74)	5.32 (0.69)	0.04	0.408
Tap water	4.95 (0.53)	4.93 (0.47)	4.92 (0.58)	4.93 (0.58)	0.03	0.824
HIV/AIDS	5.50 (0.68)	5.54 (0.64)	5.47 (0.67)	5.51 (0.69)	0.03	0.815
Female genital mutilation	4.78 (0.84)	4.75 (0.83)	4.76 (0.83)	4.76 (0.79)	0.03	0.966
Terrorism	5.83 (0.42)	5.82 (0.48)	5.84 (0.53)	5.81 (0.50)	0.03	0.937
Total Mean (SD)	5.24 (0.68)	5.21 (0.66)	5.20 (0.67)	5.81 (0.66)	0.61	0.611

* By ANOVA.

Table 6. Mean scores (SD) differences of health risk based on regions among Cameroonians (N = 1,067)

Risk factors**	Regions***										Mean differences	p-value*
	AD Mean (SD)	CE Mean (SD)	ES Mean (SD)	EN Mean (SD)	LT Mean (SD)	NO Mean (SD)	NW Mean (SD)	WE Mean (SD)	SU Mean (SD)	SW Mean (SD)
1	4.74 (0.59)	5.18 (0.84)	5.45 (0.85)	5.72 (0.91)	5.22 (0.86)	5.21 (1.08)	5.32 (0.93)	5.38 (1.04)	4.63 (0.54)	4.98 (0.74)	1.09	<0.001
2	4.53 (0.62)	4.76 (0.81)	4.79 (0.87)	5.18 (0.66)	4.67 (0.66)	4.79 (0.65)	4.90 (0.71)	4.85 (0.65)	4.19 (0.64)	4.71 (0.61)	0.99	<0.001
3	5.03 (0.82)	5.24 (0.81)	5.16 (0.95)	5.58 (0.88)	5.14 (0.95)	5.14 (0.98)	5.32 (0.93)	5.12 (1.02)	4.62 (0.68)	5.37 (0.77)	0.96	<0.001
4	5.20 (0.79)	5.18 (0.67)	5.14 (0.60)	5.61(0.61)	5.27 (0.68)	5.12 (0.72)	5.23 (0.76)	5.28 (0.56)	4.68 (0.60)	5.32 (0.88)	0.93	<0.001
5	5.65 (0.69)	5.58 (0.83)	5.14 (1.02)	5.93 (0.82)	5.24 (0.77)	5.50 (0.61)	5.58 (0.77)	5.16 (0.87)	5.21 (0.08)	5.70 (0.26)	0.79	<0.001
6	4.52 (0.94)	4.85 (0.87)	4.79 (0.68)	5.20 (0.70)	4.67 (0.75)	4.52 (0.82)	4.81(0.82)	4.63 (0.75)	4.43 (0.76)	4.70 (0.85)	0.77	<0.001
7	5.36 (0.68)	5.45 (0.68)	5.39 (0.61)	5.70 (0.59)	5.36 (0.62)	5.32 (0.58)	5.42 (0.65)	5.31(0.57)	4.97 (0.56)	5.50 (0.73)	0.73	<0.001
8	5.39 (0.62)	5.45 (0.64)	5.54 (0.59)	5.76 (0.63)	5.51(0.73)	5.42 (0.75)	5.51 (0.71)	5.59 (0.72)	5.11 (0.43)	5.44 (0.71)	0.65	0.001
9	4.92 (0.63)	5.15 (0.68)	5.15 (0.59)	5.46 (0.67)	5.05 (0.66)	5.17 (0.86)	5.18 (0.62)	5.02 (0.62)	4.81 (0.70)	5.26 (0.72)	0.65	<0.001
10	5.05 (0.60)	5.32 (0.61)	5.33 (0.68)	5.57 (0.51)	5.23 (0.58)	5.24 (0.65)	5.35 (0.66)	5.28 (0.62)	4.95 (0.46)	5.21 (0.45)	0.62	<0.001
11	5.15 (0.75)	5.35 (0.79)	5.11 (0.76)	5.70 (0.63)	5.10 (0.70)	5.24 (0.52)	5.35 (0.66)	5.22 (0.65)	5.08 (0.55)	5.39 (0.71)	0.62	<0.001
12	4.59 (0.55)	4.82 (0.78)	4.76 (0.86)	5.06 (0.71)	4.54 (0.75)	4.77 (0.77)	4.86 (0.71)	4.83 (0.72)	4.45 (0.65)	4.62 (0.52)	0.61	<0.001
13	4.78 (0.72)	4.98 (0.59)	4.93 (0.62)	5.16 (0.59)	5.01 (0.57)	4.89 (0.65)	4.96 (1.00)	5.05 (0.64)	4.55 (0.51)	4.90 (0.68)	0.61	0.002
14	4.85 (0.59)	4.87 (0.55)	4.83 (0.60)	5.07 (0.56)	4.90 (0.56)	4.86 (0.47)	4.98 (0.54)	4.85 (0.54)	4.59 (0.45)	5.10 (0.61)	0.51	<0.001
15	5.22 (0.80)	5.53 (0.82)	5.38 (0.71)	5.64 (0.76)	5.25 (0.75)	5.17 (0.76)	5.38 (0.76)	5.20 (0.65)	4.76 (0.76)	5.42 (0.77)	0.47	<0.001
16	5.02 (0.64)	5.29 (0.69)	5.24 (0.71)	5.58 (0.58)	5.23 (0.64)	5.14 (0.72)	5.36 (0.63)	5.29 (0.69)	4.76 (0.65)	5.13 (0.69)	0.44	<0.001
17	5.38 (0.62)	5.44 (0.63)	5.47 (0.64)	5.75 (0.69)	5.48 (0.67)	5.45 (0.67)	5.59 (0.70)	5.51 (0.74)	5.32 (0.40)	5.51 (0.59)	0.43	0.005
18	5.18 (0.73)	5.30 (0.72)	5.29 (0.55)	5.57 (0.48)	5.31 (0.59)	5.21 (0.60)	5.28 (0.62)	5.36 (0.50)	5.18 (0.50)	5.36 (0.75)	0.39	0.003
19	5.47 (0.60)	5.32 (0.66)	5.08 (0.61)	5.47 (0.57)	5.22 (0.66)	5.20 (0.47)	5.26 (0.57)	5.16 (0.49)	5.28 (0.66)	5.50 (0.67)	0.39	<0.001
20	5.28 (0.61)	5.35 (0.62)	5.22 (0.61)	5.48 (0.63)	5.15 (0.58)	5.08 (0.54)	5.29 (0.60)	5.12 (0.44)	5.10 (0.64)	5.43 (0.67)	0.38	<0.001
21	5.35 (0.54)	5.44 (0.58)	5.22 (0.67)	5.67 (0.49)	5.32 (0.57)	5.45 (0.52)	5.45 (0.57)	5.38 (0.48)	5.37 (0.52)	5.59 (0.57)	0.35	<0.001
22	4.69 (0.70)	4.94 (0.75)	4.94 (0.55)	5.02 (0.63)	4.76 (0.56)	4.71 (0.55)	4.81 (0.64)	4.84 (0.56)	4.72 (0.53)	4.74 (0.75)	0.33	0.001
23	5.00 (0.60)	5.07 (0.51)	5.01 (0.40)	5.25 (0.47)	5.01 (0.55)	5.08 (0.52)	5.07 (0.52)	5.01 (0.57)	4.97 (0.63)	5.10 (0.56)	0.28	0.040
24	5.80 (0.62)	5.86 (0.49)	5.68 (0.43)	5.86 (0.45)	5.77 (0.57)	5.77 (0.38)	5.82 (0.48)	5.72 (0.55)	5.82 (0.57)	5.95 (0.55)	0.27	0.029
25	5.08 (0.64)	5.19 (0.69)	5.07 (0.66)	5.33 (0.48)	5.05 (0.54)	5.14 (0.53)	5.19 (0.60)	5.05 (0.56)	5.05 (0.70)	5.10 (0.56)	0.14	0.013
Total Mean(SD)	5.09 (0.67)	5.24 (0.69)	5.16 (0.67)	5.49 (0.63)	5.14 (0.66)	5.14 (0.65)	5.25 (0.69)	5.17 (0.65)	4.90 (0.57)	5.24 (0.66)	0.59	0.011

* By ANOVA.

** 1- Chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer, etc.), 2-Natural (Traditional) health product, 3-Influenza, 4- Polio, 5- Unemployment, 6- Female genital mutilation, 7-Cigarette smoking, 8- Unprotected sex, 9–Motorcycle accident, 10- Poverty, 11- Natural disaster (flood, landslide, eruption), 12- High voltage power lines, 13- Measles, 14- Tap water, 15- Drinking alcohol, 16- Vaccines accident,17- HIV/AIDS, 18- Climate change, 19- Cholera, 20- Car accident, 21- Malaria, 22- Medical malpractice, 23- Street crime, 24- Terrorism, 25- Air pollution. Mean ± standard deviation.

*** AD (Adamawa), CE (Centre), ES (East), EN (Extreme North), LT (Littoral), NO (North), NW (North West), WE (West), SU (South), SW (South West).

Table 7. Mean (SD) scores differences of health risks based on income (1,067)

Risk factor	Monthly income ($ USD)				Mean differences	p-value*
	≤100 Mean (SD)	101–499 Mean (SD)	500–999 Mean (SD)	≥1,000 Mean (SD)
Influenza	5.19 (0.91)	5.23 (0.94)	5.23 (0.90)	5.33 (0.86)	0.14	0.629
Cholera	5.37 (0.56)	5.27 (0.62)	5.29 (0.63)	5.24 (0.59)	0.13	0.183
Medical malpractice	4.82 (0.67)	4.91 (0.61)	4.80 (0.66)	4.79 (0.65)	0.12	0.132
Polio	5.31 (0.71)	5.29 (0.70)	5.19 (0.74)	5.20 (0.69)	0.12	0.105
Natural disaster (flood, landslide, eruption)	5.32 (0.69)	5.23 (0.74)	5.33 (0.69)	5.25 (0.69)	0.10	0.225
Unemployment	5.55 (0.73)	5.46 (0.78)	5.51 (0.81)	5.54 (0.77)	0.09	0.633
Poverty	5.26 (0.59)	5.30 (0.59)	5.31 (0.60)	5.22 (0.71)	0.09	0.039
High voltage power lines	4.77 (0.71)	4.72 (0.72)	4.77 (0.75)	4.81 (0.75)	0.09	0.693
Vaccines accident	5.31 (0.64)	5.23 (0.70)	5.25 (0.68)	5.26 (0.69)	0.08	0.562
Climate change	5.36 (0.64)	5.35 (0.57)	5.28 (0.65)	5.28 (0.68)	0.08	0.335
Street crime	5.05 (0.54)	5.09 (0.51)	5.07 (0.53)	5.01 (0.57)	0.08	0.547
HIV/AIDS	5.51 (0.63)	5.55 (0.66)	5.49 (0.68)	5.47 (0.64)	0.08	0.632
Chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer, etc.)	5.18 (0.94)	5.26 (0.87)	5.24 (0.91)	5.25 (0.95)	0.08	0.733
Unprotected sex	5.49 (0.70)	5.53 (0.69)	5.49 (0.68)	5.46 (0.73)	0.07	0.805
Drinking alcohol	5.33 (0.84)	5.34 (0.80)	5.37 (0.75)	5.40 (0.75)	0.07	0.859
Car accident	5.28 (0.59)	5.28 (0.61)	5.24 (0.62)	5.31 (0.60)	0.07	0.625
Measles	5.01 (0.64)	4.96 (0.59)	4.94 (0.63)	4.94 (1.22)	0.07	0.005
Motorcycle accident	5.14 (0.70)	5.13 (0.66)	5.15 (0.72)	5.19 (0.65)	0.06	0.892
Cigarette smoking	5.42 (0.63)	5.45 (0.66)	5.39 (0.66)	5.45 (0.63)	0.06	0.615
Malaria infection	5.48 (0.57)	5.42 (0.58)	5.42 (0.56)	5.45 (0.56)	0.06	0.547
Natural (traditional) health product	4.83 (0.72)	4.77 (0.71)	4.78 (0.72)	4.81 (0.75)	0.06	0.811
Female genital mutilation	4.75 (0.86)	4.77 (0.82)	4.75 (0.81)	4.72 (0.83)	0.05	0.954
Air pollution	5.13 (0.62)	5.17 (0.60)	5.14 (0.58)	5.14 (0.65)	0.04	0.866
Tap water	4.91 (0.55)	4.91 (0.54)	4.94 (0.55)	4.91 (0.64)	0.03	0.866
Terrorism	5.83 (0.53)	5.83 (0.50)	5.80 (0.51)	5.83 (0.48)	0.03	0.767
Total mean (SD)	5.24 (0.68)	5.22 (0.67)	5.21 (0.68)	5.20 (0.71)	0.04	0.606

Mean ± standard deviation.

* By ANOVA.

Table 8. Factor analysis of psychometric paradigms* based on gender

Variables^a^,^b	Women		Men		Factor name
	Factor 1	Factor 2	Factor 1	Factor 2
Risk known to science	0.838	−0.047	0.814	−0.088	Knowledge^b
Personal knowledge	0.835	0.148	0.722	0.063
Controllability	0.671	0.462	0.685	0.349
Outrage	−0.137	0.811	−0.224	0.803	Dread^c
Seriousness to future generation	0.325	0.784	0.167	0.702
Accountability of government	0.568	0.658	0.485	0.641

* Varimax method: By considering variables greater than 0.40 as the threshold value of factor loadings.

^a Dependent variables: 1: negative score to 7: positive score.

^b Eigen value (women: 2.404, men: 2.002), variance (%; women: 65.096, men: 55.434).

^c Eigen value (women: 1.213, men: 1.004), variance (%; women: 32.556, men: 27.729).

Table 9. The ranking of 25 health risk factors based on knowledge and dread using gender

Ranking	Knowledge*		Dread**
	Women	Men	Women	Men
1	Natural disaster (flood, landslide, eruption),	Terrorism	Terrorism	Terrorism
2	HIV/AIDS	Malaria infection	Unemployment	HIV/AIDS
3	Cholera	HIV/AIDS	Unprotected sex	Malaria
4	Terrorism	Natural disaster (flood, landslide, etc.),	HIV/AIDS	Unprotected sex
5	Drinking alcohol	Cigarette smoking	Cigarette smoking	Cigarette smoking
6	Cigarette smoking	Cholera	Malaria	Cholera
7	Car accident	Unprotected sex	Drinking alcohol	Climate change
8	Malaria infection	Poverty	Chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer, etc.)	Unemployment
9	Street crime	Car accident	Poverty	Drinking alcohol
10	Poverty	Unemployment	Natural disaster (flood, landslide, etc.)	Car accident
11	Motorcycle accident	Drinking alcohol	Vaccines accident	Natural disaster (flood, landslide)
12	Unprotected sex	Polio	Influenza	Polio
13	Polio	Motorcycle accident	Climate change	Poverty
14	Unemployment	Climate change	Car accident	Vaccines accident
15	Climate change	Street crime	Polio	Air pollution
16	Chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer etc.)	Vaccines accident	Cholera	Influenza
17	Influenza	Influenza	Motorcycle accident	Motorcycle accident
18	Tap water	Medical malpractice	Air pollution	Street crime
19	Vaccines accident	Tap water	Street crime	Chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer)
20	Air pollution	Female genital mutilation	Measles	Tap water
21	Female genital mutilation	Air pollution	High voltage power lines	Measles
22	Measles	Chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer)	Natural (traditional) health product	Medical malpractice
23	Natural (traditional) health products	Measles	Medical malpractice	Female genital mutilation
24	Medical malpractice	High voltage power lines	Tap water	Natural (traditional) health product
25	High voltage power lines	Natural (traditional) health product	Female genital mutilation	High voltage power lines

* Knowledge, 1: knowledgeable; 25 unknowledgeable.

** Dread, 1: high dread; 25: low dread.

Figure 1. Risk cognitive map of 25 health risk factors based on gender.

Notes:

: Women,

: Men; ND (Natural disaster), HA (HIV/AIDS), C (Cholera), T (Terrorism), DA (Drinking alcohol), CS (Cigarette smoking), CA (Car accident), MI (Malaria infection), SC (Street crime), P (poverty), MA (Motorcycle accident), US (Unprotected sex), Pv (Polio), U (Unemployment), CD (Chronic diseases), I (Influenza), TW (Tap water), VA (Vaccine accident), AP (Air pollution), FGM (Female genital mutilation), M (Measles), NHP (Natural (traditional) health product), MP (medical malpractice), HPL (High voltage power lines), CC (Climate change).

Table 10. Perceived health risks information sources and confidence in information sources (N = 1,067)

Source of information	Mean (SD)	Confidence in information Sources	Mean (SD)
Media organizations	6.19 (1.06)	Health personnel	6.52 (0.89)
Health personnel	4.93 (2.22)	Media organizations	4.98 (2.21)
Professional groups, such as university	4.68 (2.24)	Professional groups, such as university	4.37 (1.35)
Administrative (government) agencies	3.39 (1.78)	Friends and relatives	3.18 (2.19)
Environmental and public interest groups	3.02 (1.75)	Administrative (government) agencies	3.17 (1.76)
Friends and relatives	2.70 (1.80)	Environmental and public interest groups	2.37 (1.62)

Note: Mean ± standard deviation.