Definition
Absolute risk is best defined in conjunction with relative risk. For this example, we can define risk as the likelihood of an adverse consequence in two behavioral medicine interventions, Treatment A and Treatment B. Imagine that the risk is 1 in 10 for Treatment A and 2 in 10 for Treatment B. In this case, a relative risk statement can be made, saying that the probability of the event occurring following Treatment B is twice the probability of the event occurring following Treatment A. However, the same relative risk statement can be made for probabilities of 1 in 1,000,000 and 2 in 1,000,000. However, the absolute risks are vastly different: 1 and 2 in 10; and 1 and 2 in a million.
Description
Imagine that an intervention with beneficial therapeutic properties increased your risk of an adverse consequence (an event) from 1 in 10 to 2 in 10. It is possible that some individuals may consider that the risk is too great, and that they are not prepared to take this risk. Now...
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References and Readings
Gordon-Lubitz, R. J. (2003). Risk communication: Problems of presentation and understanding. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289, 95.
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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media, New York
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Turner, J.R. (2013). Absolute Risk. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_985
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_985
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1005-9
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