Gigerenzer,G.

Doctors, health pamphlets from national cancer societies, and the Internet all inform women about early detection of breast cancer and the benefits of mammography screening. Thus, women should be fairly knowledgeable about screening. Many doctors convey an emotional message: that early detection is a moral responsibility and take care of their bodies. Pamphlets emphasize that screening can save lives but rarely provide numbers, which are more likely to be found on Web sites. Women are told that screening with mammography reduces breast cancer mortality. The fact box is a transparent, simple, and quick tool. The two relevant questions it asks are: What are the benefits? What are the harms? The columns present the two alternatives, participating in screening or not, which makes it easy to compare the consequences of each side-by-side. Most important, the information is given in transparent numbers, not in terms of misleading relative risks or survival rates. Such fact boxes have been shown to foster understanding for both benefits and risks in the general public. Fact boxes allow patients to see through misleading information. Misleading women, whether intentionally or unintentionally, about the benefit of mammography screening is a serious issue. All of those in the business of informing women about screening should recall that medical systems are for patients, not the other way around. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Gigerenzer, G. (2010). Women's perception of the benefit of breast cancer screening: Editorial. Maturitas, 67, 5-6. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2010.06.006 (Full text)

Publication year	2010
Document type:	Article
Publication status:	Published
External URL:	http://library.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/ft/gg/GG_Womens_2010.pdf View
Categories:	HealthBusinessRisk Communication
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