Risk Communication and Public Health

Book excerpt: Controversies about risks to public health regularly hit the news, whether about food safety, environmental issues, medical interventions, or "lifestyle" risks such as drinking. To those trying to manage or regulate risks, public reactions sometimes seem bizarre. To the public, the behaviour of those supposedly "in charge" can seem no less odd. Trust is currently at a premium.This new edition of Risk Communication and Public Health covers the theoretical and research background, and presents a wide range of contemporary case studies and the learning experiences from these, and the political, institutional and organisational issues they raise. It concludes with an analysis of the lessons learned and gives pointers for the future. The book offers international perspectives, and contributors include representatives from consumer organisations as well as publichealth practitioners and academics. This edition is substantially updated with new material and case studies, but retains the same focus - the improvement of communication and promotion of "good practice" in risk communication, in Government, the Health Service and elsewhere.This second edition presents a broad view of the issues around risk communication and public health in a way that will be of interest to a range of public health practitioners, managers and policy makers, postgraduate students and academics in a number of disciplines, and those interested in environmental health.