To enhance the effectiveness of health product risk communications, a systematic evaluation was requested to assess the performance of key instruments used to disseminate safety and efficacy information. The aim was to support efforts under the Evaluating the Effectiveness of Risk Communications (EERC) initiative by identifying methodologies and metrics that could measure how well these tools reach their intended audience, how clearly messages are conveyed, and what impact they have on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours.

A large number of domestic and foreign animal diseases with zoonotic health impacts to humans must be managed carefully to prevent disease transmission and spread. Risk management decisions often involve the comparison of different types of risk and the cost-effectiveness of different control measures for reducing risk. This requires that different types of risk be assessed in a consistent manner to allow cross-comparisons. The use of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) as a measure of the burden of human disease from domestic and foreign animal pathogens was completed for several zoonoses in Canada.

To support international efforts in mitigating deliberate threats to the food system, the World Health Organization commissioned an update to its earlier guidance titled Terrorist Threats to Food. The revision aimed to broaden the original scope by addressing not only intentional acts, such as food terrorism, but also a wider array of systemic risks—ranging from pandemics to geopolitical disruptions—that could compromise global food safety.

The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) commissioned a systematic review and meta-analysis to support evidence-informed decision-making around age-related cognitive decline among practicing physicians. The initiative was led by CPSA’s Physician Health Monitoring Program (PHMP), which sought to ensure continued competence and public safety in the context of an aging medical workforce.

To support regulatory decision-making, a comprehensive risk assessment was conducted to evaluate how varying lethality performance standards would impact the public health burden of salmonellosis associated with Ready-to-Eat (RTE) meat and poultry products. The primary objective was to quantify the expected number of cases of illness under different reductions in Salmonella presence across a broad spectrum of RTE product categories.

To enhance the methodological rigour of its scientific assessments, EFSA sought to develop a standardised framework for problem formulation (PF) within its non-application scientific assessment protocols. The goal was to support the planning phase of these assessments by establishing a structured, reproducible approach for translating mandates into scientifically answerable questions. This included creating a framework…

The Alliance of Blood Operators (ABO) needed a coherent risk management framework to guide decision-making on the delivery of blood services by its member organizations, which would help produce consistent decision-making processes and outcomes across the different national jurisdictional and regulatory structures. The RBDM approach was meant to support a shift in risk decision-making in national blood services organizations from one focused on minimizing all risks to blood quality and supply, with little concern for costs, to a risk-based approach in which resources are allocated according to risk and the application of financial resources and management rigour is proportional to the risk they are addressing.

The client sought support to finalize a Commission Member Document (CMD) for the re‑licensing of a nuclear facility. Recognizing the complexity and sensitivity of reactor re‑licensing, they requested assistance in crafting communication materials that were both technically comprehensive and accessible to regulatory bodies and broader audiences. The work included drafting a clear and well‑structured CMD,…

Environment and Climate Change Canada, with Health Canada, wanted to understand perceptions of the health risks from smoke from wildfires and from residential burning (winter heating using wood stoves, and fireplaces), and public health communication approaches and messages used in these contexts. This information would support revisions of the health messages used in the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI). The AQHI expresses the health risk associated with three common urban air pollutants, and is calculated at monitoring stations in communities across Canada to inform the public of the risk level of current local air quality conditions.

To support the refinement and implementation of its ecological risk guidance, a federal department responsible for marine conservation engaged expert assistance in risk communication. The primary objective was to ensure that the national guidance for ecological risk assessment—developed as part of the department’s marine spatial planning and marine protected areas initiatives—could be effectively communicated to diverse internal and external audiences.