Know Your Chances - the book
Risk, of what? How big is the risk? Does it apply to me? How does it compare to other risks?
The goal of this book is to help you better understand health information by teaching you about the numbers behind the messages—the medical statistics on which the claims are based. The book will also familiarize you with risk charts, which are designed to help you put your health concerns in perspective. By learning to understand the numbers and knowing what questions to ask, you’ll be able to see through the hype and find the credible information—if any—that remains.
In two randomised trials, this book improved medical data interpretation skills and was rated highly by well-educated participants as well as by those with less formal education. See The Effectiveness of a Primer to Help People Understand Risk.
Access the book for free online or as a PDF file, or purchase from the publisher.
Citation: Woloshin S, Schwartz LM, Welch G. Know Your Chances. Understanding Health Statistics. Berkeley (CA): University of California Press, 2008.
Go to Know Your Chances