Resumo

MARTINEZ CALVO, Silvia. Use and abuse of the term risk perception. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2017, vol.43, n.3, pp. 1-7. ISSN 0864-3466.

It is well known that the term risk is one of the fundamental concepts in epidemiology, although the repeated mention of the term maybe has prevented to give the importance it deserves. In this sense, the objective of this comment is the use and mainly the abuse of the term ¨risk perception¨, whose discursive lack is often attributed to the Cuban population, without specifying either the population group of reference or the non-perceived risk. The author´s pretension was not to exhaust the topic since concepts, approaches and critical reviews are just summarized, but rather to encourage replies that enrich the culture of debate. It is concluded that for considering this perception low or absent in our population, it is indispensable to have rigorous studies-based evidence that proves the lack of risk perception in our Cuban educated population, and to duly inform citizens, without alerts or fears, through convincing elements that allow them to know and to adequately face the risks.

Palavras-chave : Risk; risk perception; epidemiology.

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