Social amplification and policy making: understanding the roles of power and expertise in public health risk communication

H Social Sciences (General)

Adekola, Josephine Unekwu ; Denis, Fischbacher-Smith

University:University of Glasgow

Department:Adam Smith Business School

关键词: Social amplification of risk, risk communication, power and expertise.;   

Others  :  http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8514/1/2017AdekolaPhD.pdf

来源: University of Glasgow

【 摘 要 】

This thesis presents detailed accounts of policymaking in contemporary risk communicationarenas where strong power dynamics are at play, but which have hitherto lacked theoreticaldepth and empirical validation. Specifically, it expands on the understanding of how policydecisions are made where there is a weak evidential base and where multiple interpretations,power dynamics and values are brought to bear on public health risk issues. The aim of thestudy is to understand the role of power and expertise in public health risk communicationas it relates to policy making. This research describes case studies and relied largely uponpublished sources of data because it was determined that these captured stakeholder inputs,reflected the debates, drew differentially on evidence and experts, would provide greaterinsight to each of the cases and were more readily comparable across cases. These sourcesincluded published peer reviewed articles, press releases, statements and official documentsfrom government departments and organisations, reports from non-governmentalorganisations, scientific committee reports, media and newspaper sources. The findingsindicate that public health risk communication as it relates to policy making is a processembedded in institutional, productive and structural dimensions of power. This suggests thatthere are several underlying (and salient) mechanisms of power that shape how risk iscommunicated and in particular, whose expertise is called upon and whose voices are heard.Further analysis of the cases indicates that ‘power’ in public health risk communication maybe expressed through technical expertise, control of communication and creation of trust(through scientific credibility) such that an argument (within a set of risk arguments) maybecome amplified (or dominant) in the policy context. These findings are conceptualisedinto a new model - a policy evaluation risk communication (PERC) framework byidentifying key themes that shape social amplification (or attenuation) of risk.The study contributes to the growing literature on risk communication by advancingknowledge about the role of power and expertise. Testing of the PERC framework furtherenabled this study to extend the existing conceptualisation of social amplification of riskframework (SARF) from the power and expertise perspective, and to inform the critique ofthe framework in extant literature. The study also shed light on policy making in situationsof risk and uncertainty. Further research should aim at using primary data (such as eliteinterviews) in investigating the role of power and expertise in risk communication.