StATS: Ambiguous nature of the word "risk" (created 2006-09-13).

A recent discussion on the Evidence-Based Health email discussion group focused on the word "risk". It means harmful event (risks versus benefits) as well as a probability (risk of heart attack). So when you are defining evidence based medicine, it worthwhile to describe how it allows you to assess the benefits and harms of a new therapy and the probability of those benefits and harms. That avoids some confusion over the interpretation of the word "risk".

This page was written by Steve Simon while working at Children's Mercy Hospital. Although I do not hold the copyright for this material, I am reproducing it here as a service, as it is no longer available on the Children's Mercy Hospital website. Need more information? I have a page with general help resources. You can also browse for pages similar to this one at Category: Critical appraisal.