Lecture 5: Risk Comm Flashcards
do ADR in monographs reflect what will happen in public?
not necessarily
- Trial participants are generally healthier than general pop (Younger, less conditions)
- Lack of comparisons b/w products or with no treatment
- Just have to show it’s better than placebo in Canada or US
- Don’t have to compare best known treatment
- Info on risk can be implemented slowly (COVID changed this)
what are current risk attitudes>
Accept invisible high risks
● driving
Choose risky behaviour
● Rocking climbing, smoking, unprotected sex, cell
phone use while driving
Sensitive to low remote risks that are imposed by others
● Food additives, power lines, water bottle liners
Social amplification of risk comes from rumours about risk or harm
Over-estimation of dramatic or rare events, under-estimation of common killers or risks
define numeracy
- An element of health literacy
- Comprises basic math skills needed for health related activities such as timing, scheduling, dosing of meds a swell as numeric concepts needed to understand and act upon directions and recommendations given by HCPs
name 5 steps on how to communicate numbers
- Simplify numbers
- Avoid using descriptive words
- Use standardized numeric definition
- Use visual aids
- Use more than one method
(extra: Chronic meds may often work for less than 50% of the population)
simplify numbers
how can you say take 30mg in the morning of 5mg prednisone tabs?
how can you say a 5% weight loss will help (275Ib)
- take 6 tabs every morning
- a 14Ib weight loss will improve health
Avoid using descriptive words
what 3 ways can be used to talk abt frequency?
HCPs interpret rare events as far less frequent than pts
fraction, percent, odds (better)
What fraction is
- very common
- common (freq)
- uncommon (infreq)
- rare
≥ 1/10
≥1/100 and <1/10
≥1/1 000 and <1/100
≥1/10 000 and <1/1 000
Use clear and consistent numbers
what is the best number format to use?
- Odds are more easily understood
- Simple percentages such as 10% are ok
- Use standard denominator
1 in 10 vs 3 in 100
10 in 100 vs 3 in 100 is better
Some pts see risk of 1 in 500 as greater than 1 in 80
what’s wrong with saying that a pt will lower their risk by 30% by taking a statin?
sounds like she is at 100% risk of suffering a heart attack if she doesn’t take the med
when in reality Susan has a risk of 1% for MI in 10 years
Susan’s risk after taking the med in the next 10 years = 0.67%
‘Studies show that taking DRUG X lowers people’s
risk of a heart attack by 25%, or about 1/4.
what type of risk is this?
relative risk
‘The studies showed that DRUG X lowered the total
number of people having heart attacks from 4 out of
100 to 3 out of 100.’ So DRUG X helped about 1 out
of every 100 people who took it.’
what type of risk is this?
absolute risk
absolute vs relative risk
10 of 100 get disease
After drug, 5 of 100 get the disease
5/100 = absolute risk
10 to 5 = 50% relative risk reduction
emphasize the absolute risk
Keep the direction the same
○ 10 out of 100 patients will develop cancer
○ 90 out of 100 will not develop cancer
what technique is shown?
Use a consistent frame
‘Medical experts estimate that about 10 out
of 100 people like you will develop colon
cancer during their lifetimes.’
○ ‘You can also look at this in another way: 90
out of 100 people like you [with your
characteristics] will stay free of colon cancer.’
what technique is shown?
Present both frames
‘One way to think about this is to imagine a
group of (100) people like you, who have the
following things in common: (sex, age,
family history of cancer … etc). Of this group
of (100) similar people, 10 will develop colon
cancer in their lifetime.’
what technique is shown?
Explain the reference class
