OBJECTIVES: The proportion of general practitioners (GPs) in Germany who assume health impacts of electromagnetic fields (EMF) is assessed. Moreover, factors associated with this risk perception are examined. METHODS: A 7% random sample was drawn from online lists of all the GPs working in Germany. 1,867 doctors received a long version of a self-administered postal questionnaire about EMF and health (response rate 23.3%), 928 doctors received a short version (response rate 49.1%). RESULTS: 37.3% of responders to the short and 57.5% of responders to the long questionnaire agreed "that there are persons whose health complaints are caused by EMF when legal limit values are met". A late responder analysis for the survey with the short questionnaire led to a still lower estimate of 29% for GPs believing in health-relevant effects of EMF. CONCLUSION: About a third of German GPs associate EMF with health complaints and thus deviate considerably from current scientific knowledge. To avoid a strong selection bias in the surveys of the perception of EMF risks, use of short questionnaires and late responder analysis are recommended.
OBJECTIVES: The proportion of general practitioners (GPs) in Germany who assume health impacts of electromagnetic fields (EMF) is assessed. Moreover, factors associated with this risk perception are examined. METHODS: A 7% random sample was drawn from online lists of all the GPs working in Germany. 1,867 doctors received a long version of a self-administered postal questionnaire about EMF and health (response rate 23.3%), 928 doctors received a short version (response rate 49.1%). RESULTS: 37.3% of responders to the short and 57.5% of responders to the long questionnaire agreed "that there are persons whose health complaints are caused by EMF when legal limit values are met". A late responder analysis for the survey with the short questionnaire led to a still lower estimate of 29% for GPs believing in health-relevant effects of EMF. CONCLUSION: About a third of German GPs associate EMF with health complaints and thus deviate considerably from current scientific knowledge. To avoid a strong selection bias in the surveys of the perception of EMF risks, use of short questionnaires and late responder analysis are recommended.
Authors: M Blettner; B Schlehofer; J Breckenkamp; B Kowall; S Schmiedel; U Reis; P Potthoff; J Schüz; G Berg-Beckhoff Journal: Occup Environ Med Date: 2008-11-18 Impact factor: 4.402
Authors: G Berg-Beckhoff; M Blettner; B Kowall; J Breckenkamp; B Schlehofer; S Schmiedel; C Bornkessel; U Reis; P Potthoff; J Schüz Journal: Occup Environ Med Date: 2009-02 Impact factor: 4.402
Authors: Gabriele Berg-Beckhoff; Jürgen Breckenkamp; Pia Veldt Larsen; Bernd Kowall Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2014-12-12 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Elizabeth Cottrell; Edward Roddy; Trishna Rathod; Elaine Thomas; Mark Porcheret; Nadine E Foster Journal: BMC Med Res Methodol Date: 2015-01-06 Impact factor: 4.615