Australian General Practitioners’ Current Knowledge, Understanding, and Feelings Regarding Breast Density Information and Notification: A Cross-Sectional Study

Hankiz Dolan, Kirsten McCaffery, Nehmat Houssami, Meagan Brennan, Melanie Dorrington, Erin Cvejic, Jolyn Hersch, Angela Verde, Lisa Vaccaro and Brooke Nickel
Additional contact information
Hankiz Dolan: Wiser Healthcare, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Kirsten McCaffery: Wiser Healthcare, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Nehmat Houssami: Wiser Healthcare, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Meagan Brennan: School of Medicine Sydney, University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney 2007, Australia
Melanie Dorrington: Bungendore Medical Centre, Bungendore 2621, Australia
Erin Cvejic: Wiser Healthcare, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Jolyn Hersch: Wiser Healthcare, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Angela Verde: Breast Cancer Network Australia, Melbourne 3124, Australia
Lisa Vaccaro: Health Consumers New South Wales, Sydney 2000, Australia
Brooke Nickel: Wiser Healthcare, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-11

Abstract: Background: There is a lack of evidence around Australian general practitioners’ (GPs) views of issues surrounding breast density. The current study aimed to quantitatively assess GPs’ current knowledge, understanding, and feelings around breast density information and notification. Methods: This study involved a cross-sectional survey using an online platform to collect quantitative data from Australian GPs. Survey data were analysed with descriptive statistics. Results: A total 60 responses from GPs were analysed. Most ( n = 58; 97%) had heard or read about breast density and nearly 90% ( n = 52; 87%) have had discussions about breast density with patients. Three-quarters ( n = 45; 75%) were supportive of making breast density notification mandatory for patients with dense tissue and a similar proportion ( n = 45/58; 78%) felt they need or want more education on breast density. Conclusions: There is strong support for notifying patients of breast density, and interest in further education and training among the surveyed GPs. As GPs play a central role in cancer prevention and control, their involvement in discussions related to breast density notification, evaluation and appraisal of evidence, development of communication strategies, and participation in ongoing research on the topic will be indispensable.

Keywords: breast density; general practice; mammography; knowledge; notification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/9029/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/9029/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:15:p:9029-:d:870888

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().