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

University of California, Berkeley

• Realist approach
• Social constructionist approach

Approaches that Inform Risk Communication

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. 

Analyzing the social context of health information and misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case of emerging inequities in Lebanon

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

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