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Published on: February 6, 2020
Measuring perceptions of breast cancer risk
Andrea Gurmankin Levy1, Judy Shea, Sankey V Williams
1Center for Community Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney Street, Smith 253, Boston, MA 02115, USA. andrea_gurmankin@dfci.harvard.edu
Summary
The numerical rating scale best measured women's breast cancer risk perception overall, though the optimal method depends on specific research or clinical goals for accuracy.
Area of Science:
- Health Psychology
- Medical Decision Making
- Cancer Prevention
Background:
- Accurate assessment of risk perception is crucial in research and clinical settings.
- A lack of consensus exists regarding the optimal method for measuring risk perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate and compare the psychometric properties of three distinct measures of breast cancer risk perception in women.
- To determine the most effective measure for assessing women's perceived risk of developing breast cancer.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional mailed survey was administered to a primary care population of women.
- Participants rated their lifetime breast cancer risk using numerical, verbal, and comparative scales.
- Data from 566 women without a personal history of breast or ovarian cancer were analyzed.
Main Results:
- All three risk perception measures (numerical, verbal, comparative) showed significant correlations with each other, worry, Gail estimate, and family history.
- The numerical scale demonstrated the strongest correlation with annual mammogram screening.
- Numerical and comparative scales exhibited high sensitivity and specificity in identifying women with very high or very low perceived breast cancer risk.
Conclusions:
- Different measures of breast cancer risk perception possess unique strengths and limitations.
- The numerical scale generally performed best, but the ideal measure is contingent upon the specific objectives, such as minimizing false positives or false negatives.
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