Thesis
An environmental communication perspective on managing dog waste: insights from the health belief model
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2012
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/103660
Abstract
Half of the waterways tested in the U.S. are unsafe for recreational activities due to nonpoint source pollutants in stormwater such as dog waste. Over 7,000 U.S. municipalities are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop education and outreach campaigns to reduce stormwater pollution. Due to a lack of empirical studies examining communication concerning pet waste reduction efforts, the author applied the Health Belief Model (HBM) to identify perceptions of dog waste and corresponding collection behaviors for dog owners living in a northwestern city of 29,800. The author performed chi-square analyses to identify the most representative item of each HBM construct and Phi correlation analyses to investigate HBM construct relationships among 455 online survey respondents. The results of this study partially supported the HBM, specifically the correlation between dog waste collection behaviors and the most representative HBM items of threat, benefit, barriers, and reminder cues to action. This study provides evidence as to the viability of extending the HBM to environmental issues and its ability to help municipalities develop dog waste reduction campaigns.
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Details
- Title
- An environmental communication perspective on managing dog waste
- Creators
- Elizabeth A. Typhina
- Contributors
- Changmin Yan (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Edward R. Murrow College of Communication
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525113501842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis