NEW STUDY
Effect of an educational intervention on women’s healthcare provider knowledge gaps about breast density, breast cancer risk, and screening, identified important knowledge gaps about implications of breast density among women’s healthcare providers and showed that these deficiencies can be effectively addressed with web-based education.
The study, which included 177 providers, was designed to assess the effect of an educational intervention, based on DenseBreast-info.org website content, on women’s healthcare provider knowledge of breast density and comfort level discussing these topics with patients. Post intervention, all knowledge gaps were resolved or reduced and comfort in discussing breast density implications increased. Specifically:
- Pretest, 57% knew women with extremely dense breasts have four-to-six-fold greater breast cancer risk than those with fatty breasts, compared to 97% posttest;
- Pretest, 29% knew risk increases with increasing amount of glandular tissue, compared to 63% posttest;
- Pretest, only 6% knew 3D/tomosynthesis does not improve cancer detection in extremely dense breasts over 2D mammography, compared to 88% posttest;
- Pretest, 71% would consider supplemental ultrasound after mammography in an average-risk 50-year old with dense breasts compared to 88% posttest;
- Comfort in navigating patient discussions about breast density impact on breast cancer risk, masking cancer detection on mammography, and appropriate consideration of supplemental screening increased significantly from pretest to posttest.
STUDY
Radiologic Technologist and Radiologist Knowledge Gaps about Breast Density Revealed by an Online Continuing Education Course, identified provider knowledge gaps and their predictors based on an analysis of posttest responses to DB-i’s CME/CE course, Breast Density: Why it Matters. The study found important knowledge gaps regarding breast density, breast cancer risk assessment, and breast cancer screening. Nearly half of surveyed physicians and technologists erroneously thought that lifetime risk increases with increasing age. About one-third overestimated the ability of tomosynthesis to detect cancer as nearly equal to MRI and also mistakenly thought the Gail risk model should be used to determine if a woman is high risk for the purposes of recommending MRI or genetic testing.
Webinar on study highlights:
