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Decision support networks of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer
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June 22 2017
Source: Cancer. 123(20):3895-3903
[PDF-646.48 KB]
Details:
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Alternative Title:Cancer
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Personal Author:
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Description:Background
Little is known about the size and characteristics of the decision support networks of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer and whether their involvement improves breast cancer treatment decisions.
Methods
A population-based sample of patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014–15 as reported to the Georgia and Los Angeles SEER registries were surveyed approximately 7 months after diagnosis (N = 2,502, 68% response rate). Network size was estimated by asking women to list up to 3 of the most important decision support people (DSP) who helped them with locoregional therapy decisions. Decision deliberation was measured using 4-items assessing degree to which patients thought through the decision, with higher scores reflecting more deliberative breast cancer treatment decisions. We compared the size of the network (0–3 or more) across patient-level characteristics and estimated the adjusted mean deliberation scores across levels of network size using multivariable linear regression.
Results
Of the 2,502 women included in this analysis, 51% reported having 3 or more DSPs, 20% reported 2, 18% reported 1, and 11% reported not having any DSPs. Married/partnered women, those younger than 45 years old, and black women were all more likely to report larger network sizes (all p<0.001). Larger support networks were associated with more deliberative surgical treatment decisions (p <0.001).
Conclusions
Most women engaged multiple DSPs in their treatment decision making, and involving more DSPs was associated with more deliberative treatment decisions. Future initiatives to improve treatment decision making among breast cancer patients should acknowledge and engage informal DSPs.
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Pubmed ID:28640360
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Pubmed Central ID:PMC5626589
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