Quality of Informed Consent in Mammography Screening—The Polish Experience

Anna Zagaja, Renata Bogusz, Jarosław Sak, Michał Wiechetek and Jakub Pawlikowski
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Anna Zagaja: Chair and Department of Humanities and Social Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059 Lublin, Poland
Renata Bogusz: Chair and Department of Humanities and Social Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059 Lublin, Poland
Jarosław Sak: Chair and Department of Humanities and Social Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059 Lublin, Poland
Michał Wiechetek: Institute of Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
Jakub Pawlikowski: Chair and Department of Humanities and Social Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059 Lublin, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: Breast cancer is one of the leading forms of cancers in women worldwide. In Poland, it accounts for approx. 20% of all cancers diagnosed, with approximately 11,000 new cases and 5000 deaths from this disease annually. To prevent unfavourable statistics, Poland introduced free breast cancer screening programmes, available to women aged 50–69. Over a million women take advantage of this programme each year. The aim of the research was to assess the quality of consent women give prior to mammography screening and address the question of whether this quality is sufficient to make an informed choice. The study was conducted on a representative group of 600 Polish women over 50 years old (475 of them had undergone mammography screening), who agreed to take part in the study. Using the computer-assisted interview technology (CATI) method, all women were asked about their perception of breast cancer and screening and those who had undergone mammography were quizzed about the consent process. They will form the focus of this research. The validated tool contained items on both the benefits and risks of screening. The results indicate that the quality of informed consent was insufficient. A discrepancy was observed in the awareness between the benefits and risks of mammography screening. The main motivations to undergo screening were: prophylactic purposes and the free-of-charge nature of this health service. Population-based screening programmes for breast cancer should be reconsidered in terms of information policy, and the quality of informed consent should be increased.

Keywords: quality of informed consent; benefit–risk ratio; mammography; breast cancer screening (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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