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Health Risk Communication (National Library of Medicine Current Bibliographies in Medicine)
This bibliography on “Health Risk Communication” was compiled by Marcia Zorn and Scott Ratzan, and currently lists 847 citations ending in October 2000. The Introduction notes that “English language publications about risk communication were selected which focus primarily on risk communication of scientific information.” And further: “Our concern for this bibliography is with the presentation of scientific risk information; the strategies, tactics, and models that are used to communicate scientific risk information to an audience; and the difficulty of translating scientific knowledge in a meaningful way to enable the public to make informed health decisions.”
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Compiled by Philip C.R. Gray and Peter M. Wiedemann of the Research Centre in Jülich, Germany, this is a “critical guide,” not a bibliography. It lists only a small number of items, and describes and assesses each one in considerable detail. As the Introduction (“About this guide”) emphasizes, the focus “is on resources that are practically useful” – including web sites and journals as well as specific books, reports, and articles. It was last updated in September 2000.
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Risk Communication Bibliography (National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health)
Updated in June 2006 with over 850 citations, this is the most current of the three bibliographies. It is also the only one that provides a sophisticated search capability. Compiled for the National Cancer Institute by Neil D. Weinstein and his colleagues at Rutgers University, it includes mostly articles from refereed journals. The compilers note that “to set realistic boundaries, we focused this bibliography on publications that relate to the specific task of explaining the nature and magnitude of hazards to the public. This focus unavoidably neglects important social, legal, political, ethical, and institutional issues in risk communication.”
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The Website of Dr. William Leiss
William Leiss is Canada’s best-known risk communication expert. He is co-author (with Douglas Powell) of Mad Cows and Mothers’ Milk: the Perils of Poor Risk Communication, and a Fellow and Past-President (1999–2001) of the Royal Society of Canada. Dr. Leiss’s website contains links to articles by him and others about mad cow communication issues, genetically-modified food labeling, West Nile Virus risk communication in Canada, trust and fairness issues in the management of high-level nuclear waste, and other topics of interest to risk communicators.
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Facts on Health and the Environment (GreenFacts Foundation)
This website isn’t about risk communication per se, but it does offer a role model for providing complicated risk information to non-specialists – and for respectfully acknowledging many conflicting views. The Brussels-based GreenFacts Foundation discusses health and environmental controversies via a remarkably user-friendly three-tiered structure that allows the reader to start with the most basic information or with more detailed and technical information – and to switch easily from level to level. It aims at unbiased overviews, peer-reviewed by experts from varying perspectives, on such subjects as climate change, endocrine disruptors, power lines, water disinfectants, and dioxin. (Another “tier” devoted to the outrage and values aspects of each issue would be a welcome addition.)
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Regina Lundgren is a well-known risk communication consultant and trainer, and author of the book, Risk Communication: A Handbook for Communicating Environmental, Safety, and Health Risks. The “Resources” page of her website is a generous collection of links to other sites and on-line resources on risk communication, public involvement, and science communication.
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The Center for Risk Communication was founded by Dr. Vincent Covello, a worldwide leader in risk communication research, consulting, and speaking. The site includes:
- several downloadable articles by Dr. Covello and other Center staff
(http://www.centerforriskcommunication.com/publications.htm); - a list of Dr. Covello’s other articles and books
(http://www.centerforriskcommunication.com/pubadds.htm); - a brief bibliography of other readings recommended by the Center
(http://www.centerforriskcommunication.com/readings.htm); - and a list of links to other websites of interest
(http://www.centerforriskcommunication.com/links.htm).
- several downloadable articles by Dr. Covello and other Center staff
If there are other web sites that you think should be listed here,
please let me know by sending me a message.
