The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 2007;9:1:42-47
doi: 10.1576/toag.9.1.042.27295
Copyright © 2007 by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Putting risk into context
James Drife, MD FRCOG FRCPEd FRCSEd HonFCOGSA, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology1
1. University of Leeds, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Clarendon Wing, Belmont Grove, Leeds, LS2 9NS, UK. Email: j.o.drife{at}leeds.ac.uk(corresponding author)
Key content:
- Risks are measured in various ways by epidemiologists and portrayed with varying degrees of accuracy by the media.
- Doctors should examine their motives for explaining risks. These may include the wish to avoid litigation or to persuade women to take a specific course of action.
- Communicating risk requires a background knowledge of how risk is measured and a relationship of trust between doctors and women.
- Words and numbers are useful in communicating risk and decision aids are now available to help this process.
- Understanding the woman's view is essential – remembering that it may change during pregnancy – and there are techniques for learning this skill.
Learning objectives:
- To understand how risks are measured and how they are perceived by women.
- To be aware of the importance of the doctor's attitude to risks.
- To know the prerequisites for communicating risk and the range of techniques for doing so effectively.
Ethical issues:
- Does the doctor's opinion bias the information he or she gives?
- When a woman finds it difficult to take a decision herself, should the doctor do this for her?
Please cite this article as: Drife J. Putting risk into context. The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 2007;9:42–47.
Keywords contraception / decision aids / empathy / media / risk
Copyright © 2007 by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
