Decision Research, Eugene, Oregon (EP)
American University, School of Communication, Washington, DC (PSH)
Med Decis Making. 2011 May-Jun;31(3):432-6. doi: 10.1177/0272989X10391672. Epub 2010 Dec 29.
Given the importance of effective patient communication, findings about influences on risk perception in nonmedical domains need replication in medical domains.
To examine whether numeracy influences risk perceptions when different information frames and number formats are used to present medication risks.
The authors manipulated the frame and number format of risk information in a 3 (frame: positive, negative, combined) × 2 (number format: frequency, percentage) design. Participants from an Internet sample (N = 298), randomly assigned to condition, responded to a single, hypothetical scenario. The main effects and interactions of numeracy, framing, and number format on risk perception were measured.
Participants given the positive frame perceived the medication as less risky than those given the negative frame. Mean risk perceptions for the combined frame fell between the positive and negative frames. Numeracy did not moderate these framing effects. Risk perceptions also varied by number format and numeracy, with less-numerate participants given risk information in a percentage format perceiving the medication as less risky than when given risk information in a frequency format; highly numerate participants perceived similar risks in both formats. The generalizability of the findings is limited due to the use of non-patients, presented a hypothetical scenario. Given the design, one cannot know whether observed differences would translate into clinically significant differences in patient behaviors.
Frequency formats appear to increase risk perceptions over percentage formats for less-numerate respondents. Health communicators need to be aware that different formats generate different risk perceptions among patients varying in numeracy.
鉴于有效的医患沟通至关重要，因此需要在医学领域重复研究非医学领域中影响风险感知的因素。
检验在使用不同信息框架和数字格式呈现药物风险时，计算能力是否会影响风险感知。
作者通过 3（框架：正、负、综合）×2（数字格式：频率、百分比）设计来操控风险信息的框架和数字格式。来自互联网样本的参与者（N=298）被随机分配到不同条件下，对一个单一的假设场景做出反应。测量了计算能力、框架和数字格式对风险感知的主要影响和交互作用。
与给予负面框架的参与者相比，给予正面框架的参与者认为药物的风险较小。综合框架的平均风险感知介于正、负框架之间。计算能力并没有调节这些框架效应。风险感知也因数字格式和计算能力而异，接受百分比格式风险信息的计算能力较低的参与者认为药物的风险较小，而接受频率格式风险信息的参与者则认为药物的风险较大；计算能力较高的参与者在两种格式下感知到的风险相似。由于使用了非患者和呈现了假设场景，因此这些发现的普遍性受到限制。鉴于设计，无法知道观察到的差异是否会转化为患者行为的临床显著差异。
对于计算能力较低的受访者，频率格式似乎比百分比格式增加了风险感知。健康传播者需要意识到，不同的格式会在计算能力不同的患者中产生不同的风险感知。
