| dc.contributor.author | Berger, Molly | |
| dc.description.abstract | A woman living in the United States has a 12.4%, or one in eight lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States (U.S). The risk factors for developing breast cancer are multifactorial, and dense breast tissue has been found to be an independent risk factor for breast cancer. Women with dense breasts have a four to six times greater risk of developing breast cancer compared to women with fatty breast tissue. Screening mammography has been the gold standard in breast cancer detection and to measure breast density. Unfortunately, women living in rural areas have lower breast screening rates.
Many women in the United States lack knowledge related to the relationship between density and breast cancer risk. One reason may be related to breast density notification laws. Unfortunately, only 38 states have enacted breast density laws, and the breast density letters do not have uniform verbiage and are written at an average grade level of 10.5, which may cause confusion. Additionally, Rhodes et al. (2019) found less than half of the women in their study had a conversation with their healthcare provider about their breast density. Healthcare providers have also reported feeling uncomfortable discussing breast density with patients due to limited resources and training on this topic.
The goal of this practice improvement project (PIP) was to assess the knowledge and understanding of breast density among women undergoing screening mammography in a rural clinic through implementation of the Mayo Clinic Breast Density Awareness Survey. Healthcare professionals were also educated about survey results and breast density as an independent risk factor for cancer. Assessment of patient knowledge and healthcare professional education on breast density has the potential to improve outcomes and overall patient health. | en_US |
| dc.publisher | North Dakota State University | en_US |
| dc.rights | NDSU policy 190.6.2 | en_US |
| dc.title | Implementation of Provider Education: Breast Density as an Independent Risk Factor for Breast Cancer | en_US |
| dc.type | Dissertation | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-05-26T18:48:01Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-05-26T18:48:01Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10365/32595 | |
| dc.rights.uri | https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf | en_US |
| ndsu.degree | Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) | en_US |
| ndsu.college | Health Professions | en_US |
| ndsu.department | Nursing | en_US |
| ndsu.advisor | Peltier, Allison | |
| dc.identifier.doi | 10.48655/10365/32595 | |
