A Decision Aid for Patients With Minimally Suspicious Screening Mammograms: A Pilot Study

To determine the feasibility and acceptability of using a decision aid (DA) in a breast surgery clinic.

42 patients with minimally suspicious mammograms and two physicians participated in this study at an outpatient breast specialty clinic in Virginia.

A quasiexperimental single group pilot study was conducted to determine the feasibility of DecisionKEYS, a theory-based, interactive DA intervention. Patients with minimally suspicious mammogram results chose between breast biopsy or close imaging follow-up. The Decisional Conflict Scale was used to measure decisional conflict. The Decision-Making Quality Scale was used to evaluate the overall decision process. Postintervention physician and patient feedback evaluated feasibility and acceptability.

Participants and physicians rated the DA as helpful. Decisional Conflict Scale scores were low before and after the intervention. Physicians reported the DA was feasible for workflow, and the majority reported using the DA in making final recommendations. Management recommendation (breast biopsy, close imaging follow-up) changed in 26 of 42 cases from pre- to postintervention. The majority of participants underwent breast biopsy.

The feasibility and acceptability of the DA were beneficial to patients and clinic workflow.