Balancing benefits and risks when making decisions
Decisions about the use of science and technology are made by:
- ourselves as individuals
- governments
- local authorities
Public regulation can be introduced to reduce The likelihood that a hazard will actually cause harm or damage..
To make a decision, people need to take account of the The positive effect of a product or process. and risks to individuals and groups of people.
Accepting risk
People are more willing to accept a risk if:
- the decision is their choice rather than something that has been imposed upon them
- the effects are short term rather than long term
- there are strong benefits to them
Interpretation of risk
How people think about a risk can be different to the calculated risk. For example, people may think of the risk of flying as being much higher than calculations show. Or they may think cycling is less risk than is actually calculated.
In general people tend to overestimate the risk of things that are unfamiliar, invisible or long term.
Balancing benefit and risk
When making a decision about the introduction of science and technology, the benefits and risks should be considered, as well as who is affected, how and why.
For example, what are the benefits and risks of Substances containing disabled antigens of a particular disease, usually administered via injection. Vaccines stimulate the body to produce antibodies to provide immunity against that disease. children against An infectious disease of the respiratory system caused by a virus., A viral disease that usually affects the salivary glands but can affect fertility in teenage boys and men. and Also known as German measles, this is a viral disease with mild symptoms that can be very serious if contracted by a pregnant woman..
| Benefits | Risks | |
| What | Reduction in disease | Each child has a low risk of becoming sick after the vaccination |
| Who | All or almost all children in the UK | All children vaccinated |
| How/why | If all or almost all individuals are vaccinated against a disease it is unlikely to spread (herd immunity) | A vaccine introduces a small and usually ineffective version of the disease into the child's body to cause an immune response |
| What | |
|---|---|
| Benefits | Reduction in disease |
| Risks | Each child has a low risk of becoming sick after the vaccination |
| Who | |
|---|---|
| Benefits | All or almost all children in the UK |
| Risks | All children vaccinated |
| How/why | |
|---|---|
| Benefits | If all or almost all individuals are vaccinated against a disease it is unlikely to spread (herd immunity) |
| Risks | A vaccine introduces a small and usually ineffective version of the disease into the child's body to cause an immune response |
To make the decision on what to do, identify some possible actions:
- possible action 1 - offer vaccination free of charge to all children in the UK
- possible action 2 - offer vaccination free of charge only to children in affected areas
Each option will have a different balance of benefit and risk. To balance the benefits and risks of each action consider the level of benefit compared with the level of risk.
- possible action 1 - has a high level of benefit and a higher level of risk
- possible action 2 - has a weaker benefit but a lower level of risk
The number of people who benefit compared with the number of people at risk:
The preferred balance is to benefit many people and put only a few people at risk.
The least favourable balance is to benefit only a few people and put many people at risk.
In this example, vaccinating all or nearly all children in the UK benefits them all. It also puts all that receive the vaccine at risk, so the situation is fairly balanced. This is not always the case.