Risk, health and health care a qualitative approach / edited by Bob Heyman.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction Part One - Risk Rationality Values and health risks Probability and health risks Cultural dimensions of risk The symbolic representation of risk: risk imagery and the AIDS epidemic Reasoning about probabilities Part Two Researching Risk Rationality in Health and Social Care Risk, sex and the very young mother Being old and pregnant Risk perception and coping with diabetes How people with learning difficulties and their carers manage freedom of the locality Risk management in the resettlement of adults with severe learning difficulties How family and professional carers appraise risk for people with dementia Care and protection for older people: their choice, not the professionals' Risk as an integral part of nursing Blood pressure measurement: risk and certainty in clinical nursing and midwifery contexts Part 3 New Perpectives on Risk Rationality in Health and Social Care Risk a nursing dilemma Child protection and the management of risk Risk management in community care: the case of mental illness Reconceptualising risk in health promotion practice

Increased accountability means that health and social care professionals are having to pay greater attention to risk management. This book critically explores lay and professional understanding of health risks.