Web-based decision aid lowers decisional conflict, helps women decide about prophylactic treatment
MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Use of Guide to Decide (GtD), a Web-based, personally tailored decision aid, lowers decisional conflict and can help women at high risk of breast cancer to make decisions about prophylactic use of tamoxifen and raloxifene, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Medicine, held from April 11 to 14 in New Orleans.
Matthew P. Banegas, M.P.H., from the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues assessed the impact of the GtD on decisional conflict levels and treatment decision-making behavior. Postmenopausal women, aged 40 to 74, with no history of breast cancer and a National Cancer Institute Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool score of 1.66 percent or greater, were randomly allocated to an intervention group (690 women) or control group (322 women). Participants in the intervention group viewed GtD before completing a post-test, and a follow-up assessment was performed at three-months.
The researchers found that the participants in the intervention group had significantly reduced decisional conflict levels at post-test. In addition, they had a significantly increased likelihood of making a decision about whether to take prophylactic tamoxifen or raloxifene at the three-month follow-up.
"Because the guide was Web-based, women could access it in the comfort of their home or preferred setting, at their own pace, and with their family, friends, or other support system around," a coauthor said in a statement. "In addition, tailoring the information meant it matched each woman's circumstances and was much more personal."
Abstract No. D-034k
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