Making sense of risk information on the web

doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7417.695

BMJ 2003;327:695-696 (27 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7417.695

Editorial

Making sense of risk information on the web

Don't forget the basics

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Web based risk calculators are among the newest informationresources available to people who want to understand the healthrisks they face. The advantage of these calculators is theirability to generate tailored risk information based on personalfactors. But their usefulness depends on their accuracy andwhether they are complete or balanced. To focus on the secondissue, we present a hypothetical case history highlighting someelements of good (and not so good) risk communication.

The case: Mr Jones is a 55 year old white man worried aboutprostate cancer after reading about a politician who had recentlybeen diagnosed with the disease. His first search effort—usingthe Google search engine to look for "prostate cancer and riskcalculator" yields 8410 hits. The first hit (www.yourcancerrisk.harvard.edu)seems perfect. This asks him questions about himself and, basedon his age, ethnic group, family history, height, vasectomyhistory (he . . . [Full text of this article]

Clarity

Context

Uncertainty

Steven Woloshin, associate professor of medicine

(steven.woloshin@dartmouth.edu)

Lisa M Schwartz, associate professor of medicine

VA Outcomes Group, VA Medical Center, 215 N Main Street, White River Junction, VT 05005, USA

Andrew Ellner, assistant medical editor

BMJ Knowledge, London WC1H 9JR

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