What is risk assessment in public health?

• A. The rate of disease incidence in unexposed individuals.
• B. A determination of the likelihood of adverse health effects to a population after exposure to a hazard.
• C. The measurement of health care costs.
• D. The analysis of program budget impact.

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that risk assessment in public health is about estimating how likely it is that people will experience adverse health effects from exposure to a hazard. It combines what the hazard is, how exposure occurs and at what levels, and how those exposures translate into health risks for a population. In practice, it includes identifying the hazard, understanding the dose–response relationship, assessing how much and how often people are exposed, and then characterizing the overall risk.

This option is the best because it directly describes determining the likelihood of adverse health effects after exposure to a hazard, which is the essence of risk assessment. The other choices describe different concepts: measuring disease incidence in unexposed individuals pertains to disease frequency without considering exposure to a hazard; measuring health care costs and analyzing program budget impact relate to economic evaluations rather than risk assessment.