Educating health consumers about cardio-metabolic health risk: what can we learn from lay mental models of risk?

OBJECTIVE: To study lay conceptions of cardio-metabolic risk and compare them with those of experts, in order to formulate focal points for better educational risk information.
METHODS: 40 Dutch lay people were interviewed about the risks of developing cardio-metabolic diseases. Following a 'mental models approach', their conceptions were qualitatively analyzed and compared to an expert model.
RESULTS: We identified four key themes representing lay conceptions: (1) "same factors, different value" (e.g. the dominance of certain factors, such as stress); (2) "superficiality and incoherence" (e.g. a focus on health and illness in general); (3) "misjudged elevated risk concept" (e.g. either being sick or not); and (4) "no concept of a link between cardio-metabolic diseases" (e.g. separate links between causes and diseases).
CONCLUSION: Potential mismatches between lay and expert conceptions do not seem to indicate a lack of basic knowledge among consumers, but rather that certain risk factors are not effectively translated into a coherent risk picture. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: In improving educational materials, we could more explicitly take into account factors that lay people find important. Additionally, effort should be made to produce a more coherent risk understanding among consumers, for example through an alternative information structure.