Risk Communication: A Handbook for Communicating Environmental, Safety, and Health Risks [Paperback]

Regina E. Lundgren (Author), Andrea H. McMakin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2004 | ISBN-10: 1574771426 | ISBN-13: 978-1574771428 | Edition: 3

When health, safety, or environmental risks take center stage, communicating risk information can be a daunting challenge. The increased visibility of global terrorism and other catastrophic emergencies underscores the potential for human tragedy -- along with economic, social, and political consequences. Communication must be targeted, understandable, and effective without inadvertently provoking hostility and mistrust. For 10 years, Risk Communication, a handbook of strategies and guidance for conveying risk information effectively, has proved to be a valuable resource on areas such as current laws, stakeholder participation methods, and working with the news media. This significantly expanded third edition contains all new sections on communicating about acts of bioterrorism and other emergencies, developing messages, and using facilitated deliberation and alternative dispute resolution methods. Sections on using technology in communication, choosing visuals, understanding stigma and privacy issues, and evaluating communication results have been expanded to include the latest methods and research-driven examples.

A valuable resource for 10 years, Risk Communication is divided into the following self-contained parts: (1) Background information on basic theories and practices, (2) Planning a communication effort, (3) Putting risk communication into action, (4) Evaluating risk communication efforts, and (5) Communicating risk during and after an emergency.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Since we wrote the second edition of this book in 1998, a host of seemingly novel -- or at least alarmingly accelerating -- risks emerged around the world. Risk communication often has dealt with ongoing, somewhat predictable topics including environmental pollutants, industrial safety, and public health issues. Even disasters have a strong tradition of crisis planning.

But the fatal consequences and rapid spread of newer health, safety, and environmental risks threatened us in more personal and serious ways. The September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States were followed by a series of anthrax exposures, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), West Nile virus, mad cow disease outbreaks... and even the U.S. government's unprecedented classification of obesity as a disease.

At the same time, the theories, regulations, and tools used by risk communicators were becoming increasingly sophisticated. These advances in risk communication, combined with the newer risks, compelled us to write this third edition.

We've included a new chapter on preparing for and responding to bioterrorism and other emergencies. At the request of readers, we added new sections on message development and alternative dispute resolution. We also updated and expanded the sections on laws and regulations, theoretical models, technology tools, and visual portrayal of risks. With 100 more pages of guidelines, examples, and checklists, the third edition should provide its readers, including communication practitioners, industry and public sector representatives, healthcare workers, students, teachers, and consultants, with a valuable and comprehensive guide.

From the Back Cover

When health, safety, or environmental risks take center stage, communicating risk information can be a daunting challenge. Communication must be targeted, understandable, and effective while combating apathy and avoiding provoking hostility and mistrust. For ten years, Risk Communication, a handbook of strategies and guidance for conveying risk information effectively, has proven a valuable resource. In this third edition, readers get the latest updates on pertinent topics-including current laws, approaches, technology-assisted communication, stakeholder participation methods, dealing with the news media, and using images to convey risk information. New sections explain how to develop risk communication messages and how to prepare for emergencies like bioterrorism and disease outbreaks.

Managers, health care professionals, scientists, engineers, students, communication specialists, agency representatives, and consultants will benefit from contemporary, practical advice on what to do and what to avoid for successful risk communication. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 453 pages
• Publisher: Battelle Press; 3 edition (July 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574771426
• ISBN-13: 978-1574771428
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #793,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential handbook for those communicating risks, August 30, 2004

By 

Book Maven "[e-mail]" (Richland, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Risk Communication: A Handbook for Communicating Environmental, Safety, and Health Risks (Paperback)

Straightforward and well-designed, this 400+ page book tells you how to explain risks to your workers, your stakeholders, and the public effectively. This book gives you the information you need to understand, plan, start, finish, and evaluate your plan to communicate environmental, safety, or health risks.

This guide, which is based on extensive research in the field, is filled with clear visuals and valuable checklists. The examples pulled from the authors' experiences reinforce the messages, often with a touch of humor and grace. For example, never give a presentation during moose hunting season.

A new chapter devoted to communicating in emergenices, such as bioterrorist attacks, provides valuable research and guidelines for building the infrastructure you need NOW, before the emergency, as well as what to do during and after the emergency.

If your job involves communicating risks, you'll want to read this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Risk in Buying THIS Book!, October 19, 2004

By 

L. B. Sandy Rock (Bellevue and Richland, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Risk Communication: A Handbook for Communicating Environmental, Safety, and Health Risks (Paperback)

No Risk In Buying This Book!

I've been in the Environmental Risk Communication (RC) field for ten years, medicine for thirty. Often I've wished there was a text or overview of RC that was readable by professional and layperson alike. Little did I know: Regina Lundgren and Andrea McMakin have accomplished this, and the results are a resounding "Wow!" In the Third Edition of "Risk Communication, A Handbook for Communicating Environmental, Safety, and Health Risks" (Regina started with the first one; Andrea joined in for the latter two), they present an orderly, comprehensive, understandable, well-referenced, indexed, annotated and glossaried RC bible for anyone just launching into or well-ensconced in the field.

I've often said that RC can be used not only in the "classic" situations (nicely defined alliteratively in this book as "care, crisis and consensus"), but also in one-on-one domestic and professional settings. This book presents information and advice useful to and usable by just about any reader, as one would expect from a work by two communicators. There are numerous examples, case studies, tables, graphs, charts and margin key points (noted with a diamond) that go along with the very readable text (written at the appropriate level, of course). One moves from cover to cover with the ease of reading a novel, the steps to well-executed RC clearly and comprehensively (yet with remarkable simplicity) delineated. There is a start, a middle and an ending, and one feels as though the next natural step is to go out and try the recipe immediately. (I would not suggest, however, that this is a cookbook, only that it reads as easily and the results could be rewarding.)

I suspect many have and many more will hone their skills as this fine work becomes more familiar to those in the rapidly growing, essential and dynamic field of Risk Communication. There is "no risk in buying this book!" I highly recommend it and urge it on anyone who has dealt or will deal with environmental, safety and health "wicked problems" involving concerned stakeholders. That sigh of relief you hear is you, as you find solutions to---or at least direction toward---the challenges you face.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The risk communication "bible", November 11, 2008

By 

A. Cargile (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Risk Communication: A Handbook for Communicating Environmental, Safety, and Health Risks (Paperback)

I've worked in communications for more than 18 years and have dealt with environmental and other risk communications off and on for nearly 15 years. I wish someone had handed me this book when I managed public outreach/communications on my first Superfund site in 1994. This is a great, concise, easy-to-reference guide to risk communications...practical and wise without being unapproachably academic. A must for every communicator's library!