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Belief in numbers: When and why women disbelieve tailored breast cancer risk statistics.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Scherer, LD; Ubel, PA; McClure, J; Greene, SM; Alford, SH; Holtzman, L; Exe, N; Fagerlin, A
Published in: Patient education and counseling
August 2013

To examine when and why women disbelieve tailored information about their risk of developing breast cancer.690 women participated in an online program to learn about medications that can reduce the risk of breast cancer. The program presented tailored information about each woman's personal breast cancer risk. Half of women were told how their risk numbers were calculated, whereas the rest were not. Later, they were asked whether they believed that the program was personalized, and whether they believed their risk numbers. If a woman did not believe her risk numbers, she was asked to explain why.Beliefs that the program was personalized were enhanced by explaining the risk calculation methods in more detail. Nonetheless, nearly 20% of women did not believe their personalized risk numbers. The most common reason for rejecting the risk estimate was a belief that it did not fully account for personal and family history.The benefits of tailored risk statistics may be attenuated by a tendency for people to be skeptical that these risk estimates apply to them personally.Decision aids may provide risk information that is not accepted by patients, but addressing the patients' personal circumstances may lead to greater acceptance.

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Published In

Patient education and counseling

DOI

EISSN

1873-5134

ISSN

0738-3991

Publication Date

August 2013

Volume

92

Issue

2

Start / End Page

253 / 259

Related Subject Headings

  • Women's Health
  • Risk Factors
  • Risk Assessment
  • Public Health
  • Program Evaluation
  • Middle Aged
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Decision Making
  • Breast Neoplasms
 

Citation

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Scherer, L. D., Ubel, P. A., McClure, J., Greene, S. M., Alford, S. H., Holtzman, L., … Fagerlin, A. (2013). Belief in numbers: When and why women disbelieve tailored breast cancer risk statistics. Patient Education and Counseling, 92(2), 253–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2013.03.016
Scherer, Laura D., Peter A. Ubel, Jennifer McClure, Sarah M. Greene, Sharon Hensley Alford, Lisa Holtzman, Nicole Exe, and Angela Fagerlin. “Belief in numbers: When and why women disbelieve tailored breast cancer risk statistics.Patient Education and Counseling 92, no. 2 (August 2013): 253–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2013.03.016.
Scherer LD, Ubel PA, McClure J, Greene SM, Alford SH, Holtzman L, et al. Belief in numbers: When and why women disbelieve tailored breast cancer risk statistics. Patient education and counseling. 2013 Aug;92(2):253–9.
Scherer, Laura D., et al. “Belief in numbers: When and why women disbelieve tailored breast cancer risk statistics.Patient Education and Counseling, vol. 92, no. 2, Aug. 2013, pp. 253–59. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.pec.2013.03.016.
Scherer LD, Ubel PA, McClure J, Greene SM, Alford SH, Holtzman L, Exe N, Fagerlin A. Belief in numbers: When and why women disbelieve tailored breast cancer risk statistics. Patient education and counseling. 2013 Aug;92(2):253–259.
Journal cover image

Published In

Patient education and counseling

DOI

EISSN

1873-5134

ISSN

0738-3991

Publication Date

August 2013

Volume

92

Issue

2

Start / End Page

253 / 259

Related Subject Headings

  • Women's Health
  • Risk Factors
  • Risk Assessment
  • Public Health
  • Program Evaluation
  • Middle Aged
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Decision Making
  • Breast Neoplasms