Challenge of Communicating Risks -- October 21, 2003

Research Triangle Park, NC — New research from Family Health International and Princeton University in New Jersey shows that communicating risks — such as the risks of pregnancy associated with contraceptives — to women can be a big challenge. With so many medical choices available in the United States, it is important that women fully understand the risks of their options so that they can make the most informed decisions about their health. In this randomized controlled trial, 461 U.S. women viewed information on the pregnancy risks associated with different contraceptives in one of three ways: as numbers, showing effectiveness rates for each contraceptive method; as categories of effectiveness (i.e., more effective, effective, less effective) for different methods; or as numbers and categories. Results suggest that women do not accurately understand their risks when they are shown only numbers, and they still have some trouble when the information is presented in other ways. To read more about this study, published in the October 2003 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14551000&dopt=Abstract. For further information, contact media@fhi.org.

Source 

Steiner MJ, Dalebout S, Condon S, Dominik R, Trussell J. Understanding risk: a randomized controlled trial of communicating contraceptive effectiveness. Obstet Gynecol 2003;102(4):709-17.