Attitudes and Decisional Conflict Regarding Breast Reconstruction Among Breast Cancer Patients.
Sharon L Manne, Neal Topham, Laurie Kirstein and 7 others
PMID 26780376WHAT IT FOUND
Women considering breast reconstruction had low knowledge but low decisional conflict.
Preparedness and concerns about risks predicted conflict, not knowledge. Addressing specific fears and clarifying values may help more than providing general facts.
Key findings
01Average breast reconstruction knowledge was low (34% correct), yet decisional conflict was also low (33.5 on a 100-point scale).
02Lower decisional preparedness and higher reasons not to choose reconstruction (e.g., fear of risks) were the significant predictors of decisional conflict, while knowledge and anxiety were not.
03Women who had consulted a plastic surgeon had higher knowledge and preparedness but did not have significantly lower decisional conflict than those who had not.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample was small (55 women) and drawn from a pilot study, which limits the generalizability of the findings. The participants were predominantly white, well-educated, and insured, which may not represent the broader population of women with breast cancer. The study was cross-sectional, capturing a snapshot of attitudes before surgery, so it cannot determine how decisions or conflicts changed over time. Knowledge was measured using a survey developed for the study, which may not have been fully validated against other standards.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that increasing a patient's factual knowledge about breast reconstruction will reduce their decisional conflict. In this study, knowledge levels were not associated with conflict; instead, feeling unprepared and having specific concerns about risks were the key drivers.