Holli H Seitz1,2, Marilyn M Schapira3,4, Laura A Gibson1, Christine Skubisz1,5, Susan Mello1,6, Katrina Armstrong3,7, Joseph N Cappella1. 1. a Annenberg School for Communication , University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , PA , USA. 2. d Department of Communication , Mississippi State University , Starkville , MS , USA. 3. b Perelman School of Medicine , University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , PA , USA. 4. c Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Crescenz VA Medical Center , Philadelphia , PA , USA. 5. e Department of Behavioral Health and Nutrition , University of Delaware , Newark , DE , USA. 6. f Department of Communication Studies , Northeastern University , Boston , MA , USA. 7. g Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital , Boston , MA , USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study examines the effects of a mammography decision intervention on perceived susceptibility to breast cancer (PSBC) and emotion and investigates how these outcomes predict mammography intentions. DESIGN: Randomised between-subjects online experiment. Participants were stratified into two levels of risk. Within each stratum, conditions included a basic information condition and six decision intervention conditions that included personalised risk estimates and varied according to a 2 (amount of information: brief vs. extended) × 3 (format: expository vs. untailored exemplar vs. tailored exemplar) design. Participants included 2465 US women ages 35-49. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: PSBC as a percentage, PSBC as a frequency, worry, fear and mammography intentions. RESULTS: The intervention resulted in significant reductions in PSBC as a percentage for women in both strata and significant increases in worry and fear for women in the upper risk stratum. Of the possible mediators examined, only PSBC as a percentage was a consistent mediator of the effect of the intervention on mammography intentions. CONCLUSION: The results provide insight into the mechanism of action of the intervention by showing that PSBC mediated the effects of the intervention on mammography intentions.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: This study examines the effects of a mammography decision intervention on perceived susceptibility to breast cancer (PSBC) and emotion and investigates how these outcomes predict mammography intentions. DESIGN: Randomised between-subjects online experiment. Participants were stratified into two levels of risk. Within each stratum, conditions included a basic information condition and six decision intervention conditions that included personalised risk estimates and varied according to a 2 (amount of information: brief vs. extended) × 3 (format: expository vs. untailored exemplar vs. tailored exemplar) design. Participants included 2465 US women ages 35-49. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: PSBC as a percentage, PSBC as a frequency, worry, fear and mammography intentions. RESULTS: The intervention resulted in significant reductions in PSBC as a percentage for women in both strata and significant increases in worry and fear for women in the upper risk stratum. Of the possible mediators examined, only PSBC as a percentage was a consistent mediator of the effect of the intervention on mammography intentions. CONCLUSION: The results provide insight into the mechanism of action of the intervention by showing that PSBC mediated the effects of the intervention on mammography intentions.