April 7-9, 2022 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Abstract: Understanding Appraisal and Decisional Factors’ Influence on Treatment Decisions amongst Individuals with Fibroadenoma Diagnoses
Introduction. Approximately one in ten individuals each year are diagnosed with a fibroadenoma, and research suggests that while these lesions are typically benign, patients who experience this endure many diagnosis-associated health problems related to managing the uncertainty of the diagnosis (Ajmal & Fossen, 2020). The uncertainty that accompanies patients’ fibroadenoma diagnoses may be particularly significant because of the lesion’s disruptive, ambiguous, complex and unpredictable nature, yet little is known about the impact of this uncertainty on people’s treatment decisions (Bury, 1982; Brashers, 2001). The aim of this study was to explore how individuals appraise their uncertainty related to a fibroadenoma diagnosis and to identify the factors that influence their treatment decisions. Method. We collected data from Reddit discussions for a qualitative content analysis. Reddit was chosen because of its global popularity and algorithm that presents information as mass conversations, or subreddits (Tasente, 2019; O’Donnell & Guidry, 2020). As a result, Reddit facilitates health testimonials which can provide curious users and researchers with insight into other’s thoughts and behaviors (O’Donnell & Guidry, 2020). We used testimonials pertaining to fibroadenoma diagnoses to understand how individuals appraise their fibroadenoma diagnosis as it relates to their health uncertainty and the factors that influence their treatment decisions. Specifically, we targeted the subreddits: r/WomensHealth, r/TwoXChromosoms, r/medical_advice, r/breastcancer, and r/HealthAnxiety because they contained the most fibroadenoma treatment and removal discussions. From this, 37 subreddit threads containing 346 comments with an average upvote of 88% were obtained. Utilizing this data, we have undertaken a qualitative content analysis, which is in progress. By April, two coders will have coded the data three times (i.e., one round of preliminary coding and two additional rounds of focused coding will be performed). After each round of coding, the coders will meet to review and discuss the findings and finalize the coding scheme. All coding will be performed using an Office Word file and will then be transferred to SPSS for final analysis. Conclusion. By determining how individuals appraise their diagnosis and the factors that influence treatment decisions, we hope to assist providers and patients in managing patients’ uncertainty regarding their diagnosis and improving treatment decision-making in light of their uncertainty. This will effectively advance the overall well-being of all those involved with this diagnosis, especially the patients.