Document Detail


Communicating treatment risk reduction to people with low numeracy skills: a cross-cultural comparison.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19833983     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVES: We sought to address denominator neglect (i.e. the focus on the number of treated and nontreated patients who died, without sufficiently considering the overall numbers of patients) in estimates of treatment risk reduction, and analyzed whether icon arrays aid comprehension.
METHODS: We performed a survey of probabilistic, national samples in the United States and Germany in July and August of 2008. Participants received scenarios involving equally effective treatments but differing in the overall number of treated and nontreated patients. In some conditions, the number who received a treatment equaled the number who did not; in others the number was smaller or larger. Some participants received icon arrays.
RESULTS: Participants-particularly those with low numeracy skills-showed denominator neglect in treatment risk reduction perceptions. Icon arrays were an effective method for eliminating denominator neglect. We found cross-cultural differences that are important in light of the countries' different medical systems.
CONCLUSIONS: Problems understanding numerical information often reside not in the mind but in the problem's representation. These findings suggest suitable ways to communicate quantitative medical data.
Authors:
Rocio Garcia-Retamero; Mirta Galesic
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2009-10-15
Journal Detail:
Title:  American journal of public health     Volume:  99     ISSN:  1541-0048     ISO Abbreviation:  Am J Public Health     Publication Date:  2009 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-11-11     Completed Date:  2009-12-07     Revised Date:  2011-12-21    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  1254074     Medline TA:  Am J Public Health     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  2196-202     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Granada, Campus Universitario de Cartuja s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain. rretamer@ugr.es
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Aged
Cross-Cultural Comparison*
Educational Status*
Female
Germany
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Male
Mathematics
Middle Aged
Patient Education as Topic*
Risk Factors
Risk Reduction Behavior*
United States

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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