Improving Risk Communication (1989) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 1-13
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From page 1... ...
Government and industry also send out messages about hazards and their risks, sometimes directly to the populace but more often through intermediaries, such as the print and broadcast media. Risk messages are difficult to formulate in ways that are accurate, clear, and not rn~sTeading.
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Finally, it should be noted that one of the most difficult issues we faced concerned the extent to which public officials in a democratic society should attempt to influence individuals-that is, to go beyond merely informing them concerning risks and such riskreducing actions as quitting smoking. Government officials must be accountable for their decisions and will likely find their efforts to influence contested if they stray from accepted scientific views or if they challenge popular consensus.
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It is also mistaken to think, as some do, that if people understood and used risk comparisons it would be easy for them to make decisions. Comparing risks can help people comprehend the unfamiliar magnitudes associated with risks, but risk comparison alone cannot establish levels of acceptable risk or ensure systematic minimization of risk.
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Finally, it is unrealistic to expect easy identification and understanding of the values, preferences, and information needs of the intended recipients of risk messages. Other misconceptions involve stereotypes about the way intermediaries and recipients react to risk messages.
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For example, sometimes statutes require consideration of certain factors (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act explicitly includes consideration of economic benefits) or the exclusion of others (the Clean Water Act specifies that the best available technology should be used regardless of the financial burden imposed)
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Problems of Risk Communicators and Recipients The problems encountered by the sources and recipients of risk messages center on the following topics: establishing and recognizing credibility, making the messages understandable, preparing messages in an emergency, capturing and focusing attention, and getting information. Lack of credibility alters the communication process by adding distrust and acrimony.
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. Recipients of risk messages may have difficulty deciding which issues to attend to or what to do because they cannot get information from officials and other message sources that satisfactorily answers their questions.
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Nevertheless, our recommendations are intended to attack the problems of recipients of risk messages as well. The goal cannot be only to make those who disseminate formal risk messages more effective by improving their credibility, understandability, and so on.
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Setting Realistic Goals Risk communication activities ought to be matters of conscious design. Practical goals should be established that explicitly accommodate the political/legal mandates and constraints bounding the process and the roles of the potential recipients of the organization's risk messages, on the one hand, and clearly show the contribution to improved understanding of issues and actions on the other.
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Organizations that communicate about risk should take steps to ensure that the preparation of risk messages becomes a deliberate, specialized undertaking, taking care that in the process they do not sacrifice scientific quality. Such steps include (1)
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ensuring that their organizations improve their understanding of the roles of intermediaries, particularly media reporters and editors, including an understanding of the factors that make a risk story newsworthy, of the practical time and space constraints, and of the limited technical background of most media personnel. Risk Communication in Crisis Conditions The process for risk communication in crisis conditions requires special care.
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From page 12... ...
A Consumer's Guide to Risk and Risk Commnnication Major government and private organizations that sustain risk communication efforts should jointly fund the development of a Consumer's Guide to Risk and Risk Communication. The purpose of this guide would be to articulate key terms, concepts, and trade-offs in risk communication and risk management for the lay audience, to
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From page 13... ...
cover subjects such as the nature of risk communication, concepts of zero risk and comparative risk, evaluation of risk messages, and others designated by project participants. Research Needs As a result of our cleliberations, we have identified nine research topics for attention: (1)
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