The perceived ethical appropriateness of messaging on breast cancer screening cessation among older women.
Vivian V Altiery De Jesus, Mary Catherine Beach, Susan M Hannum and 7 others
PMID 40712404WHAT IT FOUND
75.9% of older women said it was ethically appropriate for doctors to share a message about stopping mammograms.
Softer wording was accepted more than stronger advice; many said the decision should remain the patient's.
Key findings
01Of 683 older women, 75.9% perceived the primary message as ethically appropriate, and 13.2% were neutral.
02The two stronger-worded variations were considered ethically appropriate by 66.1% and 64.7% of participants, less often than the primary message.
03Several participants who found the message inappropriate said it sounded persuasive rather than factual, and frequent comments said the final screening decision should be the patient's.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The message was tested in a hypothetical vignette, so reactions in a real clinical encounter may differ. Participants could not ask questions or seek clarification about the message, as they likely would in practice. The sample had high health literacy and was mostly White, so perceptions may not represent all older U.S. women. Only 487 of 683 participants answered the open-ended question, and those who answered had higher education and health literacy. The outcome was perceived ethical appropriateness, not whether women changed mammography behavior. Coding reliability was reviewed but not formally assessed with a statistic.
Declared interests
The authors declared no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 75.9% agreement as proof that clinicians should tell older women to stop mammograms. The study measured perceived ethical appropriateness of a hypothetical message, not real screening behavior, and stronger wording was less accepted.