Overcoming the Many Pitfalls of Communicating Risk

Abstract

Health and medical decisions are based, in part, on the extent to which individuals believe that they are likely to experience a health problem. These risk perceptions can be influenced by healthcare providers and public health practitioners who seek to enable people to make informed medical decisions and encourage them to engage in healthy behaviors. However, meaningful comprehension of risk information involves cognitive, intuitive, and affective processes, as well as contextual features that shape one’s perspective. This complexity makes it difficult to communicate risk information effectively. This chapter provides a very brief theoretical orientation to the concepts of risk perception and communication, and then focuses intensively on specific strategies for avoiding common mistakes made by well-meaning risk communicators: Adhering to basic good communication practices, recognizing limitations in numeracy, defining effective risk communication as more than simple recall of likelihood information, providing specific risk reduction recommendations, and using risk communication strategies that increase comprehension and evaluative meaning.