One in nine women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime and will be faced with making medical decisions related to the treatment of the disease. Current public opinion and legislative trends favor the informed involvement of the patient in the medical decision making. However, a host of variables related to the patient, the physician, the medical information provided, the doctor-patient interaction, and the social context influence what those decisions are. The goal of this study is to investigate the role of two message features: (l) the recognition and diffusion of emotion by the physician, and (2) the availability and salience of heuristic cues, and a variety of person factors (previous experience with cancer, anxiety, optimism, education, and age) on the comprehension and interpretation of treatment-related information.
The specific aims of the study are to: (l) develop video recorded messages that adequately depict the experimental manipulation (varying levels of state anxiety and varying the salience of heuristic cues); (2) investigate the main and interactive-effects of message characteristics and breast cancer status on the comprehension and interpretation of treatment information; and (3) investigate the main and interactive effects of the subjects' individual characteristics on comprehension and interpretation of treatment information. Using the Elaboration Likelihood Model of communication as a conceptual framework, the study will employ a two-phase design. In phase one, a series of video recorded communications will be developed and tested for their ability to induce the desired experimental manipulation. The video recording will be based on transcripts from actual doctor-patient consultations, and ethnographic interviews with breast cancer survivors, and will feature a physician during a consult with a relapsed breast cancer patient concerning the use of bone marrow transplantation, standard breast cancer treatment and no treatment. Four focus groups will be conducted to test the messages: two with women who have been previously treated for breast cancer and two with women who have never had cancer. During phase two, a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design (2 message features by breast cancer status) will be employed with 30 women per treatment cell. During this phase, women will complete extensive pre- and post-message questionnaires.
The specific aims of the study are to: (l) develop video recorded messages that adequately depict the experimental manipulation; (2) investigate the main and interactive effects of message characteristics and breast cancer status on the comprehension and interpretation of treatment information; (3) investigate the main and interactive effects of the subjects' individual characteristics on comprehension and interpretation; and (4) investigate the feasibility of this research approach for further studies.
