What is risk?
Risk = a measure of the probability that damage to health will occur as a result of a given hazard. It features:
- probability that event will occur
- consequences of event.
NB: Risk is about probabilities, not certainties.
Risk can be measured by comparing likelyhood of harm - those exposed to hazard and those not exposed to it. e.g. smokers more likely to get lung cancer than non-smokers.
- Over what time period does risk occur? e.g. number of years smoked for.
- Level of exposure to hazard e.g. number of cigarettes a day.
- Other factors influence? e.g. stress, alcohol.
Statistics can be misleading e.g. 1000 people die, actually die over 14 years, so only…