Development and evaluation of a breast cancer prevention decision aid to address the needs of women aged 50 and older at high risk for breast cancer.

Abstract

Objectives. To describe the support needs of high risk women; and to develop and evaluate a decision aid to meet their decision making needs. The Ottawa Decision Support Framework was the conceptual framework that guided the needs assessment and decision aid development and evaluation. Setting. Urban breast health clinic for women at high risk of breast cancer. Methods. The support needs of high risk women were identified using a self-assessment survey completed before and a satisfaction survey completed after a consultation visit with breast health practitioners. Guided by six key considerations for the development of decision aids, a breast cancer prevention decision aid was designed to address high risk women's informational and decisional support needs. The evaluation included a pre-test with 10 high risk women using the decision aid alone and a before/after study with 17 high risk women using the decision aid combined with decision support counselling. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)