People perceive nearly equivalent terms very differently. For example, biomedical research is viewed as the study of genes using laboratory microscopes, whereas medical research is seen as involving doctors and patients and disease prevention and treatment. Certain words and phrases that are commonly used by the scientific community and the media are not well understood by the public and often carry negative connotations. Communicators should explain a health risk as clearly as possible because people are likely to dismiss confusing risk messages, using the ambiguity as an excuse for inaction. People react most positively to message concepts that emphasize that cancer affects everyone and that great progress is being made in cancer research.
People have definite ideas about what they want to know about scientific research and cancer risk.
People have a number of concerns about medical research, including the inadequacy of information that is disseminated to the public, the competition that occurs between researchers, and the perceived use of placebos in clinical trials. People want to know what the known risk factors are and what, if any, actions can be taken to reduce the risk. They also want to know if there is a certain level of exposure that puts them at risk. For example, people are interested in knowing how much of a particular ingredient they would have to eat to be at risk for developing a certain cancer. People want to know, in absolute numbers, how many people will get a particular cancer within a defined period of time.