Risk Communication

Risk communication is part of risk management. Risk is a central issue for policy areas as diverse as health, safety, technology, environment, and finance‐important issues for the average individual in day‐to‐day life. Stakeholders in the context of risk communication are very diverse. They could be members of the public, the media/press, governmental organizations, NGOs, or even workers in an organization. Risk perception is a central issue. Over the years, risk communication, more specifically the communication process in a controversial context or in a crisis, has gained importance. In this chapter, the complexity of risk communication is discussed, both from the perspective of a developing academic discipline and from a more practical perspective with a number of examples. Several risk communication models are presented, illustrated with empirical studies in this area. Limitations, new focus points, and new approaches are described.