EDITORIAL
Paradigm shift in the etiology of risk
Nursing has been concerned with the concept of risk since its beginning. In the past, risk was identified with components technical-operative of nursing; therefore, emerging the following risk connotations: performance of nursing procedures, acquisition and transmission of diseases, safety in the workplace, and exposition to environment factors that might cause deterioration of health.
The word risk had many meanings over the years. The word risk was first registered in Spanish as "riesgo" in the XIV century, yet did not have the connotation of potential danger. Etiological studies of the word risk suggested that it was originated from the Latin word "resecum" which means "what cut" and was used to describe sea travel situations such as "danger hidden in the sea". At that time the concept of possibility also appears in the literature, which led the discipline of epidemiology to use the concept of risk in a different way to mean probability or chance of an event to occur and magnitude of this occurrence. Since then this understanding of the concept of risk appears to be necessary to determine multiple factors that influence health and disease and the process of care.
Risk in healthcare is understood as the potential danger of the occurrence of an adverse effect to a factor that might affect the several aspects of the human being: physical, psychological, moral, intellectual, social, cultural, and spiritual. Measurement of risk is an essential strategy to identify and alter environmental, social, personal, and genetic factors that might threaten the health of the individual, family, and community. The emphasis on risk is a work philosophy to improve clinical thinking, health promotion, and the delivery of care. This constitutes an opportunity to integrate clinical practice and epidemiology as well as management and planning of care. Contribution of nursing research that poses hypotheses related to the concept of risk constitutes a paradigm shift that addresses values, customs, and improvement in nursing care, and promotion of well-being and quality of life of the individual, family, and community.
Mônica Antar Gamba
Profa. Adjunto da Disciplina de Enfermagem Saúde Pública e Administração aplicada à Enfermagem do Departamento de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP - São Paulo (SP), Brasil.
Eduarda Ribeiro dos Santos
Doutoranda do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Enfermagem da Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP - São Paulo (SP), Brasil.
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
07 Aug 2007 -
Date of issue
Dec 2006
