European guidelines on breast cancer screening and diagnosis

Should communication skills training vs. no communication skills training be used for healthcare professionals working with women who undergo screening mammography?

The GDG felt that no training was not appropriate but there was uncertainty about several factors that influenced the direction and strength of the recommendation. There was also uncertainty about what exactly the intervention entails.

This recommendation was discussed as being applicable to all parts of the breast cancer screening programme, although what processes the screening programme covers was not exactly defined.

Another reason for a conditional recommendation was due to the uncertainty about the evidence and the costs required for the relevant human resources (if they are not available), as well as not knowing exactly what training to provide, which may prevent programmes from proceeding. In addition, there is uncertainty on the type of information to be presented to women, depending on their sociocultural background.

This applies equally to the complete pathway of mammography screening (including further assessment when it is part of the screening programme).

There should be a periodic monitoring of the interventions using satisfaction surveys of participants.

The GDG agreed that better knowledge about what women actually want to know about will inform the interventions and the type of training, if any.