“It’s about our bodies… we have the right to know this stuff”: A qualitative focus group study on Australian women’s perspectives on breast density

A systematic assessment of online international breast density information

“…Interestingly a recent focus group study of Australian women who had little to no previous awareness or knowledge of breast density found that information on harms including overdiagnosis did not seem to have a strong swaying effect on women's views about breast density, although the expressed desire for more information, e.g. “be alert not alarmed”, was very strong [ 37 ]. Furthermore, most websites had no mention or links to peer-reviewed data and/or references, while a few had direct references to studies in the text but no actual references provided.…”

“…To our knowledge this is the first study to assess breast density information from international websites, and analyse direct-to-consumer breast density recommendations. Due to the current low and varied awareness and knowledge surrounding breast density in the community from both the US and countries without widespread notification or legislation [ 19 , 37 ], and varying advice and stances from medical professionals and bodies globally [ 8 , 11 , 42 ], it is critical to know what women are being told in relation to this controversial topic online. The analysis was conducted systematically, and used well-developed and established tools and measures, including the content analysis method [ 23 ].…”

Australian General Practitioners’ Current Knowledge, Understanding, and Feelings Regarding Breast Density Information and Notification: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Nickel et al previously conducted a qualitative study into the views and perception of Australian GPs regarding breast density and potential notification [ 16 ]. The findings from this study pointed to GPs’ limited knowledge about breast density and mixed views towards notification, especially when clear guidelines in managing breast density are lacking [ 17 ]. The findings from the current study, however, indicate a higher level of knowledge and support for notification.…”

Australian Women’s Responses to Breast Density Information: A Content Analysis

“…This study used content analysis [ 15 ]. This method combined elements of both qualitative and quantitative methods to assess and analyse written free-text data from Australian women who participated in an online focus group [ 16 ]. The community-based online focus group study, which was approved by the University of Sydney’s Human Research Ethics Committee (2020/160), administered written questionnaires (using Qualtrics) to the participants at the start and end of the session.…”

“…Each session comprised an introduction to the topic, a demographic questionnaire, warm-up discussions, detailed presentations interspersed with group discussions, and a final questionnaire [ 16 ]. The information provided during the sessions included pictures and infographics describing BD and its implications.…”