Evaluation of existing patient educational materials and development of a brochure for women with dense breasts

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Breast density; Mammography; Patient education; Policy.