Computer-animated counselors could improve patient understanding of breast cancer
Interacting with a computer-animated virtual counselor could help patients know more about complex health issues, including breast cancer, according to new findings published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
“Many women receive letters after they have a mammogram telling them they have dense breasts, but these letters are hard to understand,” corresponding author Christine Gunn, PhD, Boston University School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement. “Interactive, smartphone-based education can add to these letters making medical information easier to understand. The public should know about the different evidence-based materials that may be offered to help them understand complex health issues, like breast density.”
Gunn and colleagues developed Danya, a computer-animated counselor that can answer questions and communicate with patients about their healthcare, working through the design process with the Pink & Black Education and Support Network. The researchers then surveyed focus groups of women before and after they learned about Danya. All study participants were between the ages of 40 and 74 and eligible for mammograms.
Overall, participants were “very satisfied” with the demo they were shown. Also, knowledge improved for six of the 12 items the researchers were focused on. The number of unanswered questions did not significantly improve, however, and knowledge about “the distinction between connective and fatty tissue in the breast” did not increase.
Even with these somewhat mixed results, the authors see their work as the beginning of a new way to potential help women learn more about their health.
“There's a lot of complex information, and the medical system doesn't always do the best job of explaining things or can't answer questions quickly if you aren't in a doctor's office,” Gunn said in the same statement. “We hope tools like our virtual health counselor can support women, no matter where they are, understand their own health and empower them to get the right care when they need it.”
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.