A Global Scoping Review of Preparedness and Equity Considerations in the Communication of Breast Density Information

Résumé fourni par la source

Breast density is a non-modifiable risk factor for breast cancer and reduces mammographic sensitivity. Several countries, including the United States and Australia, have introduced breast density notification policies requiring women to be informed of their breast density following mammography. In the United Kingdom, breast density is not routinely communicated to women within the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme, though the question of whether and how to introduce notification is increasingly being debated. The existing literature has largely focused on patient-level outcomes following notification, with limited examination of how breast density information interacts with professional roles, health system structures, and equity considerations. This scoping review will map and summarise the global literature on the communication of breast density information to identify public, professional, and system-level factors relevant to preparedness and equity in breast density notification. The review will be conducted in accordance with JBI methodology for scoping reviews and reported following the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. A systematic search will be conducted across five databases: MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), PsycINFO (Ovid), and Scopus, with no date or language restrictions. Evidence will be mapped across three preparedness domains: public preparedness, professional preparedness, and system-level implications, with equity examined as a cross-cutting dimension. The findings will establish a conceptual foundation for subsequent UK-focused empirical research examining public and professional preparedness for breast density information within the NHS screening context.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.