THE MEANINGS OF VERBAL MESSAGES ABOUT THE RISK OF SIDE EFFECTS
2025
Cultural changes are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship, highlighting the importance of shared decision-making in treatment.This process requires physicians to present statistical data on treatment effectiveness and potential side effects.However, understanding numerical risk can be difficult for patients, often making verbal descriptors necessary.The way these labels are interpreted influences risk perception and treatment choices.This study explored how people perceive words describing the frequency of side effects and evaluated their unambiguity.A total of 175 participants assigned percentage values to 13 verbal labels and assessed their clarity.The results revealed how verbal labels were understood and perceived in terms of unambiguity.Discrepancies emerged between laypeople's interpretations and the official European Medicines Agency.These findings highlight the need for further research to improve risk communication in medical settings.