Predictors of Home Radon Testing and Implications for Testing Promotion Programs

Abstract

Four data sets (total N = 3,329) are examined to identify the predictors of home radon testing. The data, interpreted in terms of a stage model of radon testing behavior, reveal that the variables predicting transitions between stages change as people move from one stage to the next. Thinking about radon testing (vs. never having even considered testing) is best predicted by general radon knowledge and by knowing other people who are concerned or have tested. Once contemplating testing, the decision to test is most closely related to the perceived likelihood of a home radon problem. Finally, there are few differences between people who say they have decided to test and those who have already tested. Instead situational factors—including difficulties in locating and choosing among test kits—appear to constitute the final barrier to testing. The ways in which these findings might assist the design of radon outreach programs are discussed, and specific outreach recommendations are advanced.