considers risk to be objective and not dependent on socio cultural contexts

Realist Approach to Risk Communication

considers risk to be socially and culturally influenced and constructed

Social Constructionist Approach to Risk Communication

• Lebanese government largely relied on the realist approach when it communicated to the public.

• Realist approach opens up risk for misinterpretation in the wake of scientific uncertainties and new and evolving information.

•Research have established that social determinants of health influence people’s behaviors and health outcomes.

 • Very useful for health communicators to consider how social conditions at the interpersonal, community and societal levels influence health behavior

Realist approach vs. social constructionist approach

• Realist approach
• Social constructionist approach

University of California, Berkeley

strategized information exchange with the goal of promoting healthy behavior among the public

Risk Communication in Public Health

Makhoul, Jihad, et al. “Analyzing the Social Context of Health Information and Misinformation during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case of Emerging Inequities in Lebanon.” Global Health Promotion, vol. 28, no. 1, 2021, pp. 33–41., https://doi.org/10.1177/1757975920984178. 

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