Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2010 Jun;19(3):228-34.
doi: 10.1007/s10897-010-9279-z. Epub 2010 Jan 30.

Re-conceptualizing risk in genetic counseling: implications for clinical practice

Jehannine C Austin  1
Affiliations
Review

Re-conceptualizing risk in genetic counseling: implications for clinical practice

Jehannine C Austin. J Genet Couns. 2010 Jun.

Abstract

Risk communication is an important component of genetic counseling. However, many authors have noted that after genetic counseling, subjective risk frequently does not match the objective risk provided by the counselor. This inevitably leads to the conclusion that the risk communication process was not "effective". There has been much discussion about how this problem can be better addressed, such that our clients recall numeric risks more accurately after genetic counseling. This article draws on the risk and probability literature from other fields (including psychology, economics, philosophy and climate change) to deconstruct the concepts of "risk" and risk perception to attempt to expand upon and develop thought and discussion about and investigation of the risk communication process in genetic counseling.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Model of contributors to the concept of risk, applied to genetic counseling.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adams J. Risk and morality: three framing devices. In: Ericson RV, Dobson W, editors. Risk and Morality. Toronto: University of Toronto Press; 2003. pp. 86–103.
    1. Bottorff JL, Ratner PA, Johnson JL, Lovato CY, Joab SA. Communicating cancer risk information: the challenges of uncertainty. Patient Educaction and Counseling. 1998;33:67–81. - PubMed
    1. Crowson CP, Therneau TM, Matteson EL, Gabriel SE. Primer: demystifying risk - understanding and communicating medical risks. Nature Clinical Practice. 2007;3(3):181–7. - PubMed
    1. Edwards A, Elwyn G. How should effectiveness of risk communication to aid patients’ decisions be judged? A review of the literature. Medical Decision Making. 1999;19:428–434. - PubMed
    1. Edwards A, Evans R, Dundon J, Haigh S, Hood K, Elwyn GJ. Personalized risk communication for informed decision making about taking screening tests. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2006;18(4):CD001865. - PubMed

Publication types

Grants and funding