Risk adverse investors

  What do risk adverse investors typically focus on prior to investing and why? Terms such as standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and probability are important for what reasons? Economic events such as inflation, recession, and high interest rates may impact impact investment decisisons for the investor and the investee - why? Terms such as risk-free interest, market risk premium, and beta come into play when looking at stocks and funds. What do these terms really mean to healthcare entities?