Study protocol of the planetary health action survey PACE: a serial cross-sectional survey to assess the readiness to act against climate change

Abstract

Introduction: Climate change is a paramount global health threat with multifaceted implications. Societal change is required to mitigate the negative effects of climate change, as well as help people adapt to the associated health risks. This requires situation-specific, large-scale data to help scientists and policymakers understand public perceptions and behaviours and identify the levers to increase public readiness to act against climate change and protect health. The Planetary Health Action Survey (PACE) assesses this readiness to act as a regular monitoring of representative samples in Germany. The ongoing monitoring seeks to develop and refine an integrated conceptual model of the trait-like readiness to act, comprising policy acceptance, political participation and individual behaviours as indicators of the trait. It also proposes as set of determinants to explain different levels of readiness to act. This study protocol provides newly developed valid measurement instruments and the methodological details of the monitoring.

Method and analysis: PACE assesses indicators of the readiness to act and a set of sociocognitive factors predicting the readiness to act in continuous cross-sectional data collections. The latter comprise climate change knowledge, trust in institutions, perceived health risks, self-efficacy, social norms and perceived effectiveness of policy measures. The online questionnaire is updated regularly. Data collection involves non-probabilistic quota samples from Germany (n≈1000 at each collection).

Ethics and dissemination: The project adheres to the ethical guidelines of the University of Erfurt and the German Research Foundation. Ethical clearance was granted by the University's Institutional Review Board (No #20220525/No #2024-01). Participants are guaranteed confidentiality and anonymity, and informed consent is obtained before participation. Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, we aim to inform and empower the public and support stakeholders (media, policymakers, climate protection organisations) in preparing climate communication and assisting policymakers through the project website including an interactive tool, detailed reports and short summaries for practitioners.

Keywords: methods; public health; surveys and questionnaires.

Figure 1. Planetary Health Action Survey (PACE) conceptual working model. Explaining readiness to act (RTA) against climate change by sociocognitive factors.