- Prevention paradox
The prevention paradox, first formally described in 1981 [Rose G., "Strategy of prevention: lessons from cardiovascular disease", "Brit Med J" 1981; 282: 1847-51.] by the epidemiologist Geoffrey Rose, is a problem encountered when governments or organisations attempt to introduce an intervention to improve health. Many interventions that aim to improve health have relatively small influences and perceptible benefits on the health of most people. Therefore for one person to benefit, many people have to change their behaviour—even though they receive no benefit, or even suffer, from the change. Public awareness of this paradox means that the strength of purported benefits from a population programme often tends to be exaggerated, which causes people to get even more cynical and less likely to accept burdensome interventions.
References
External links
[http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/14/1/32?ijkey=cc2107f6663d0f720023503b8f7d6a54b10bda73&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha "Sick individuals and sick populations", G. Rose, "Int J Epidem" 1985; vol. 14, no. 1: pp. 32-38.]
[http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/30/3/442 "Commentary: The prevention paradox in lay epidemiology—Rose revisited", Kate Hunt and Carol Emslie, "Int J Epidem" 2001; vol. 30, no. 3: pp. 442-446.]
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