Development and Evaluation of Messages for Reducing Overscreening of Breast Cancer in Older Women.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Many older women are screened for breast cancer beyond guideline-recommended thresholds. One contributor is pro-screening messaging from health care professionals, media, and family/friends. In this project, we developed and evaluated messages for reducing overscreening in older women.

Methods

We surveyed women ages 65+ who were members of a nationally representative online panel. We constructed 8 messages describing reasons to consider stopping mammograms, including guideline recommendations, false positives, overdiagnosis, and diminishing benefits from screening due to competing risks. Messages varied in their format; some presented statistical evidence, and some described short anecdotes. Each participant was randomized to read 4 of 8 messages. We also randomiz

SUBMITTER: Schoenborn NL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10997450 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature