Health Risk Assessment: Suggested Directions for Research

Abstract

Despite the widespread acceptance and importance of HRA as a method for health education and health promotion, research on the method is deficient in a number of respects. Most of the research has been preoccupied with the technical problems of risk estimation, not the educational impact of the method on those who respond to HRA instruments or participate in subsequent information feedback or behavior modification programs.²⁰ If we are to better understand the implications of HRA-based techniques as educational instruments or as assessment devices for evaluating the effects of health programs, the underlying research base must expand. Rather than focusing exclusively on the methods by which risks are estimated within the structure of any particular instrument, research in the future needs to address a larger agenda which includes the potential educational implications of the method. Given the extent of use of HRA, research in this field should be a rewarding and valued enterprise for many years ahead.