Getting Risk Right: Understanding the Science of Elusive

Getting Risk Right: Understanding the Science of Elusive Health Risks

Do cell phones cause brain cancer? Does BPA threaten our health? How safe are certain dietary supplements, especially those containing exotic herbs or small amounts of toxic substances? Is the HPV vaccine safe? We depend on science and medicine as never before, yet there is widespread misinformation and confusion, amplified by the media, regarding what influences our health. In Getting Risk Right, Geoffrey C. Kabat shows how science worksâ€•and sometimes doesn'tâ€•and what separates these two very different outcomes.

Kabat seeks to help us distinguish between claims that are supported by solid science and those that are the result of poorly designed or misinterpreted studies. By exploring different examples, he explains why certain risks are worth worrying about, while others are not. He emphasizes the variable quality of research in contested areas of health risks, as well as the professional, political, and methodological factors that can distort the research process. Drawing on recent systematic critiques of biomedical research and on insights from behavioral psychology, Getting Risk Right examines factors both internal and external to the science that can influence what results get attention and how questionable results can be used to support a particular narrative concerning an alleged public health threat. In this book, Kabat provides a much-needed antidote to what has been called "an epidemic of false claims."

Country	USA
Author	Geoffrey Kabat
Binding	Hardcover
Brand	Columbia University Press
EAN	9780231166461
Edition	1
Feature	Columbia University Press
IsAutographed	0
ISBN	023116646X
IsMemorabilia	0
Label	Columbia University Press
Manufacturer	Columbia University Press
MPN	9780231166461
NumberOfItems	1
NumberOfPages	272
PartNumber	9780231166461
PublicationDate	2016-11-22
Publisher	Columbia University Press
ReleaseDate	2016-11-01
Studio	Columbia University Press

Getting Risk Right: Understanding the Science of Elusive Health Risks

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