Final Program - Society for Risk Analysis

M3-E Symposium: Listeria Monocytogenes Dose-Response Data andModels: Current and Future AdvancementsInvasive listeriosis is associated with a hospitalization rate of around 90%of those infected, and a high case fatality rate (among the highest of any foodbornepathogen, the third highest cause of death), leading to overall high publichealth burden and high health-related costs. Listeriosis is nevertheless a relativelyrare disease in the general population, with regard to its relatively highfrequency of isolation in food. The two major dose-response models scaledon epidemiological data for Listeria monocytogenes were developed by FDA/FSIS/CDC in 2003 and by FAO/WHO in 2004. Since then, knowledge onthe bacteria, the host and their interaction has increased, notably concerningthe physiopathology of the infection, the virulence of the strains and/or thesusceptibility of individuals. New data from experimental infections on animalmodels as well as the distribution of different L. monocytogenes subtypes inready-to-eat foods are available. A workshop on Listeria Dose-Response Models,co-sponsored by the Interagency Risk Assessment Consortium (IRAC) andthe Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) was held inWashington DC in March 2011. This symposium will provide an overview ofdata and models for understanding the relationship between dose and adversehealth effects for L. monocytogenes and a summary of the recommendationsfor future advancements in this area from the IRAC/JIFSAN workshop.M3-F Symposium: Engaging Stakeholders in Risk-Informed DecisionMaking: Methodology and Case StudiesThere are many situations involving risk where stakeholders could have amajor role in decision making. Traditionally, stakeholder values and opinionshave been integrated qualitatively. This is a deficient method of operation,due to the large degree of information lost and the tendency of the loudestor most insistent opinion to be the only one heard. Further, a qualitative approachto stakeholder engagement does not allow for the expression of valuejudgements or for dealing with tradeoffs. Lastly, stakeholders can have a greatvariety of differing viewpoints. Thus, a method that integrates multiple linesof evidence is needed to account for the scope of information that must gointo a comprehensive decision-making process. Quantitative methods, includingMulti-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), offer a means to integrate valuejudgments into complex decision-making processes. They can also serve astools to resolve conflicts which would normally prevent action in an importantyet contested area. By quantitatively accounting for stakeholder opinions and42concerns, their ideas can be integrated into decision-making in a real and transparentway so that their views are accounted for. This session will present fourexamples in which stakeholders’ opinions have been integrated into complexdecision-making processes. Examples will be presented which show the integrationof stakeholders from local communities and federal agencies, as wellas domestic and international case studies. The symposium will give useful examplesof how integrated risk management and decision analysis tools can beused to resolve stakeholder conflicts. Session topics include: • Stakeholder involvementin development of a dredged materials management plan for LongIsland Sound • Integration of opinions of multiple government agencies forDepartment of State’s Civilian Response Corps • Mental modeling approachesto cognitive decision-making • International example from Portugal showinginformal examples of integrating stakeholder opinionsM3-G Symposium: Risk Communication and Trust in Canadian AboriginalCommunitiesIn recent years, communication about risks to human health has commandedincreasing public attention and reaction. As various agencies and organizationsstruggle to deal with an increasingly apprehensive and distrustfulpublic about a bewildering variety of natural, man-made, voluntary and involuntaryrisks, it has become evident that social and individual trust in risk managersplays a profound role in the acceptability of decisions for risk actions.This is particularly pronounced in risk communication with Canadian Aboriginalpopulations. We examine this through three unique risk issues in a FirstNations, Inuit and Metis community context in distinct geographic areas ofCanada. In this session, the first presentation will outline the mixed methodsresearch design for this project as well as highlight challenges in using a commonevaluative framework to measure trust in these different cultural contexts.The second presentation will highlight the challenges of engaging effectiverisk communication processes in a community context that has been plaguedby poor risk management processes in the remediation of a former gold miningoperation. The third presentation will explore the complicated nature ofcommunicating food risk messaging in a context where early attempts resultedin significant secondary risk exposures and an agency’s efforts to address thesein subsequent messaging through more community engagement. The last presentationwill explore how one Aboriginal group has felt marginalized in mostrisk communication engagements as they are frequently considered an ‘addon’ if they are even considered at all. This will be explored looking at how riskcommunication efforts during pandemic H1N1 sought to redress this.