Evaluation of existing patient educational materials and development of a brochure for women with dense breasts
Erica T. Warner,
Mark Kennedy,
Ariel Maschke,
Margaret F. Hopkins,
Karen Wernli,
Christine M. Gunn
Affiliations
Erica T. Warner
Department of Medicine, Mongan Institute, Clinical Translational Epidemiology Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Corresponding author. Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street Boston, MA, 02116, USA
Mark Kennedy
Chronic Disease Division, Boston Public Health Commission, Boston, MA, USA
Ariel Maschke
Department of Medicine, Section of General Internal Medicine, Women’s Health Unit, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
Margaret F. Hopkins
Department of Medicine, Mongan Institute, Clinical Translational Epidemiology Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
Karen Wernli
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
Christine M. Gunn
Chronic Disease Division, Boston Public Health Commission, Boston, MA, USA
Objectives: In this pilot study, we developed and assessed acceptability of a brochure for women with dense breasts. Material and methods: We measured Flesch-Kincaid Readability of 22 existing breast density educational materials. We then developed a brochure and tested it in two populations of women: 44 safety net hospital patients and 13 Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium stakeholders. Results: Average grade score of existing materials was 10.0 (range: 5.5–12.7). Our brochure had a grade score of 5.9, and patients reported it was easy to understand. Conclusion: Our plain language brochure could improve patient understanding following mandatory dense breast notification.
