TY - JOUR
T1 - Enhanced counselling for women undergoing BRCA1/2 testing
T2 - Impact on knowledge and psychological distress-results from a randomised clinical trial
AU - Roussi, Pagona
AU - Sherman, Kerry Anne
AU - Miller, Suzanne
AU - Buzaglo, Joanne
AU - Daly, Mary
AU - Taylor, Alan
AU - Ross, Eric
AU - Godwin, Andrew
PY - 2010/4
Y1 - 2010/4
N2 - This randomised controlled trial evaluated the impact of an enhanced counselling (EC) intervention on knowledge about the heritability of breast and ovarian cancer and distress, as a function of BRCA test result, among high-risk women. Before deciding about whether or not to undergo genetic testing, participants were randomly assigned to the EC intervention (N = 69), designed to promote cognitive and affective processing of cancer risk information (following the standard individualised counselling session), or to the control condition (N = 65), which involved standard individualised counselling followed by a general health information session to control for time and attention. Women in the EC group exhibited greater knowledge than women in the control group, 1 week after the intervention. Further, at the affective level, the intervention was found to be the most beneficial for women testing positive: specifically 1 week after test result disclosure, women in the intervention group who tested positive experienced lower levels of distress than women in the control group who tested positive. The findings suggest that the design of counselling aids should include a component that explicitly activates the individual's cognitive-affective processing system.
AB - This randomised controlled trial evaluated the impact of an enhanced counselling (EC) intervention on knowledge about the heritability of breast and ovarian cancer and distress, as a function of BRCA test result, among high-risk women. Before deciding about whether or not to undergo genetic testing, participants were randomly assigned to the EC intervention (N = 69), designed to promote cognitive and affective processing of cancer risk information (following the standard individualised counselling session), or to the control condition (N = 65), which involved standard individualised counselling followed by a general health information session to control for time and attention. Women in the EC group exhibited greater knowledge than women in the control group, 1 week after the intervention. Further, at the affective level, the intervention was found to be the most beneficial for women testing positive: specifically 1 week after test result disclosure, women in the intervention group who tested positive experienced lower levels of distress than women in the control group who tested positive. The findings suggest that the design of counselling aids should include a component that explicitly activates the individual's cognitive-affective processing system.
KW - Breast cancer
KW - Enhanced counselling
KW - Genetic testing
KW - Intrusive ideation
KW - Ovarian cancer
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77951189878&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/08870440802660884
DO - 10.1080/08870440802660884
M3 - Article
C2 - 20204945
SN - 0887-0446
VL - 25
SP - 401
EP - 415
JO - Psychology and Health
JF - Psychology and Health
IS - 4
ER -