Journal of the National Cancer Institute
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Apr 2004
Multicenter Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialDecreasing women's anxieties after abnormal mammograms: a controlled trial.
Few studies have evaluated interventions to decrease a woman's anxiety after she receives an abnormal mammogram (i.e., one with a recommendation for follow-up). We performed a controlled trial to compare the effects of both an immediate reading of mammograms (i.e., a radiology intervention) and of an educational intervention that taught skills to cope with anxiety on the psychological status of women whose mammograms were normal or abnormal. ⋯ Immediate reading of screening mammograms, but not an educational intervention targeting coping skills, was associated with less anxiety among women with false-positive mammograms 3 weeks after mammography.