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Project Title:
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Public Health Decision-Making Under Uncertainty
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PIN:
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PHPH-H-07-05-A
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Major Unit:
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Institute of Medicine
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Sub Unit:
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Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice
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RSO:
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Stratton, Kathleen
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Subject/Focus Area:
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Project Scope
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An ad hoc committee will conduct a study and prepare a report for the Environmental Protection Agency on decision-making about environmental threats to human health under various types of uncertainty. The study will consider specific approaches from several areas of public health for informing decisions with quantitative analysis that reflects uncertainty in risks. In addition, it will consider methods for communicating uncertainty in risk information to a range of interested parties including environmental decision makers (in the EPA and their state-based partners) and citizens.
Based upon available literature, theory, and experience, the committee will provide its best judgment and rationale on how best to use quantitative information on uncertainty in the estimates of risk in order to manage environmental risks to human health and for communicating this information.
Specifically, the committee will address the following questions:
How does uncertainty influence risk management decisions under different public health policy considerations? How can the use of this uncertainty information be helpful to environmental risk managers in their decision making regarding risks to human health?
Are there promising tools and techniques from other areas of public health policy for decision making under uncertainty? What are benefits and drawbacks to these approaches for decision-makers at EPA and their partners?
Are there other ways in which the EPA could benefit from quantitative characterization of uncertainty (e.g., value of information techniques to inform research priorities)? What are the benefits and drawbacks to these approaches?
What approaches for communicating uncertainty could be used to enhance the appropriate use of this risk information? Are there communication techniques to improve the understanding of uncertainty among users of risk information like risk managers, journalists, and citizens?
What implementation challenges would EPA face in adopting these alternative approaches to decision making and communicating uncertainty? What steps should EPA take to address these challenges? Are there interim approaches that EPA could take?
The approximate start date for the project is April 23, 2007
The project is sponsored by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The report is tentatively scheduled to be released approximately 18 months from the starting date.
Update 3-31-09: The project duration has been extended. The report is expected to be issued by Spring 2010.
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Project Duration:
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18 months
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Provide FEEDBACK on this project.
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Contact the Public Access Records Office to make an inquiry, request a list of the public access file materials, or obtain a copy of the materials found in the file.
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Tel:
202.334.2000