‘It touches my heart more when I see this…’: visual communication in the realisation of risk - the case of type 2 diabetes in Stockholm

Risk communication is increasingly recognised as an integral component of preventative medicine. However, only a limited number of studies have focused on the experience and understanding that an individual has on receiving personalised risk information in relation to Type 2 Diabetes. In this article we aim to fill one critical gap in our knowledge – how is this risk information being perceived by the receiver, and what differences exist when the format is numerical or visual? Type 2 Diabetes was used as the case disease, due to its increasing global prevalence and protracted asymptomatic period, which is shared with other non-communicable diseases. We conducted 15 semi-structured interviews in a socio-economically disadvantaged area of Stockholm. The interviews incorporated a ‘think-aloud’ discussion of participants’ responses to their ‘Finnish Diabetes Risk Score’ (FINDRISC) and self-developed visual aids that illustrated this score. The theme ‘Incorporating Self in the Realisation of Risk’ was developed, informed by three categories that captured a transition from: Risk as interpreted as separate to; related to; and finally, part of the self. The findings suggest that visuals, in addition to numerical information, add a heightened sense of emotion to perceptions of risk, which gave participants a heightened sense of their susceptibility to disease. The data highlight how simple illustrations, as an adjunct to numbers, may engage both cognitive and emotive stems of thought to ‘incorporate self’ in the realisation of risk.