'Relatively speaking': Relativisation of genetic risk in counselling for predictive testing

Journal article

The activity of risk communication in the healthcare setting is contingent upon the associated notions of uncertainty, normality and decision making. Focusing on the context of counselling for predictive genetic testing, we point out that because there is 'medical' uncertainty surrounding such testing, the discourse of risk assessment concerning an unwanted event is articulated in terms of the likelihood (in objective, probabilistic language) and the relative aversiveness (in subjective, eval...

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Authors: Sarangi, S; Bennert, K; Howell, L; Clarke, A

• Journal: Health, Risk and Society
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 155-170
• Publication date: 2003-07-01
• DOI: 10.1080/1369857031000123939
• EISSN: 1469-8331
• ISSN: 1369-8575
• Language: English
• Keywords: Genetic counselling; Risk communication; Escalation and de-escalation of risk; Risk of occurrence of disease; Discourse analysis; Risk of knowing; Predictive testing