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Drug Safety
Published in: Drug Safety 11/2012

01-11-2012 | Review Article

Risk Perception and Communication in Sub-Saharan Africa

Authors: Professor Alexander Dodoo, Bruce Hugman

Published in: Drug Safety | Issue 11/2012

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Abstract

In this narrative review, a brief summary of theoretical approaches to risk perception is followed by an analysis of some of the special factors influencing risk perception and risk communication in sub-Saharan Africa. Examples of recent and emergent local medicines and vaccine controversies in several countries are given along with evidence and analysis of how they were managed. These demonstrate, among other things, the extent to which ethnic, religious and cultural issues influence popular perception, and the power of rumour and anecdote in shaping public opinion and official responses to events.
Where safety monitoring systems exist, they are in their infancy, with limited capacity for data collection, credible scientific review, effective public communication and robust crisis management. Although increasing democratic freedoms, including less restricted media, and evolving health systems are addressing the challenges and give hope for further progress, there are still deep and intractable issues that inhibit transparent and effective risk communication and stand in the way of African populations comprehending medicines and their risks in safer and more balanced ways.
Some proposals for future change and action are offered, including the pursuit of a deeper understanding of local and national values, assumptions and beliefs that drive risk perception; tailoring public health planning and communications to specifically-targeted regions and populations; strengthening of safety surveillance and data-collection systems; giving higher priority to medicines safety issues in healthcare training and public education.
Footnotes
1
This ‘ optimistic bias ’ — the belief that one is less at risk than others — is one of a range of factors determining an individual’s perception of risk; this bias seems to have greater universality than others which tend to be more influenced by culture (see Ted et al.[1]).
 
2
Heuristics: the solving of problems based on past experience.
 
3
Article 58 of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 allows the EMA to give opinions, in co-operation with the WHO, on medicinal products for human use that are intended exclusively for markets outside of the EU. Medicines eligible for this procedure are used to prevent or treat diseases of major public health interest, including vaccines used in the WHO Expanded Programme on Immunization as well as medicines for WHO target diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria or tuberculosis.
 
4
Monitoring of non-traditional media and other channels can produce rapid and effective early warning of all kinds of problems in health. As one example, since 2000, the WHO Global Outbreak and Response Network, incorporating Health Canada’s Global Public Health Intelligence Network (1997) has been working with partners all over the world to monitor thousands of public news and other sources across the world for emerging and urgent issues of interest. ‘Ears to the ground’ in remote and major locations may often alert attention to news of suspected or actual events much more quickly than official networks or data-collecting channels.
 
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Metadata
Title
Risk Perception and Communication in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors
Professor Alexander Dodoo
Bruce Hugman
Publication date
01-11-2012
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Drug Safety / Issue 11/2012
Print ISSN: 0114-5916
Electronic ISSN: 1179-1942
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03261990

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