Implications of risk conception for the basic care pratice

Abstract

Production of knowledge as well as health actions are directly related to the conceptual and methodological bases provided by Epidemiology. This paper discusses three relevant themes of risk conception: the construction of collective inferences based on the judgment of values; the need of reducing the complexity of the studied phenomena and isolating them from external influences; avoidance of subjectivity in the construction of models excelling in objectivity, linearity and precision. The implications of this scientific thinking are analyzed in their potentialities and especially in their limitations for the clinical practice in Primary Health Care.