What’s the risk of disease?

Software tools to support learning concepts of risk perception and assessment

Abstract

Risk assessment for human and animal diseases is performed to clarify pathways that may result in disease, and estimate the likelihood of this outcome in specific settings; the outputs are typically used to inform decisions and support policy development. It is often performed using a structured process of elicitation of opinion from subject experts, which aims to minimise the inherent element of uncertainty due to the subjective nature of elicitation. User-friendly software tools can generate insights into risk perception of assessors, elicitation of expert opinion and quantitative estimation of risk. Such tools were incorporated into an online postgraduate course on risk analysis delivered to 36 veterinarians across South Asia. The activities developed to apply these tools required careful staging and scaffolding within the course framework. They highlighted the importance of good coordination and effective communication between the assessors, as well as with the course tutors.