4: Risk Communication

The previous chapter explored risk management practice and theory. From that chapter and its preceding chapter on risk assessment it is clear that there are many ways of assessing risk, and that the management approach taken is equally complex, and equally important. While there are many guidelines, approaches and publications on risk assessment and management, there is comparatively less published work directly on risk communication (Heilbrun, O'Neill, Strohman, Bowman, & Philipson, 2000), despite risk communication having been identified as an important area for future research nearly 40 years ago, in 1982 (National Research Council, 1989). The current chapter will therefore discuss risk communication broadly and will outline why it is just as important to consider adopting an explicit risk communication strategy as it is to have appropriate risk assessment, management and governance structures in place. Indeed, without effective risk communication, or even simply effective communication to start with, any assessment and management process is, itself, put at risk; after all, it is the act of communicating risk which directly influences future risk management decisions (Heilbrun et al., 2000).