Abstract
Objective. To understand mammographers' perception of individual women's breast cancer risk. Materials and Methods. Radiologists interpreting screening mammography examinations completed a mailed survey consisting of questions pertaining to demographic and clinical practice characteristics, as well as 2 vignettes describing different risk profiles of women. Respondents were asked to estimate the probability of a breast cancer diagnosis in the next 5 years for each vignette. Vignette responses were plotted against mean recall rates in actual clinical practice. Results. The survey was returned by 77% of eligible radiologists. Ninety-three percent of radiologists overestimated risk in the vignette involving a 70-year-old woman; 96% overestimated risk in the vignette involving a 41-year-old woman. Radiologists who more accurately estimated breast cancer risk were younger, worked full-time, were affiliated with an academic medical center, had fellowship training, had fewer than 10 years experience interpreting mammograms, and worked more than 40% of the time in breast imaging. However, only age was statistically significant. No association was found between radiologists' risk estimate and their recall rate. Conclusion. U.S. radiologists have a heightened perception of breast cancer risk.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 283-289 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Medical Decision Making |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2005 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Perception
- Pretest probability
- Risk
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health Policy