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The article talks about the efforts by clinical, consumer and research organisations in Australia to deal with the challenges of overdiagnosis in the country, discussing the efforts of international community to deal with the issue, and the growth in global evidence base for the issue.

To explore women's views on diagnostic breast test information and elicit their preferences for this information. In-depth, face-to-face interview. Thirty-seven women who had previously participated in a population-based telephone survey. Qualitative thematic analysis. Analysis of interview transcripts revealed information about: (1) the wide range of information participants wanted about diagnostic mammography; (2) general reactions to diagnostic breast test information, including positive and negative reactions, views of test accuracy information and perceived influences on information preferences; (3) preferences for information content and presentation including the need for written information, the meaning of statistical information, different views on a simple presentation style, and variation in preferences; and (4) women's understanding of diagnostic test results. Women want a range of information about diagnostic mammography, which is relevant at different times in the decision-making and testing process. Many women have difficulty interpreting test results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective To determine women's preferences for and reported experience with medical test decision-making. Design Computer-assisted telephone survey. Setting and participants Six hundred and fifty-two women resident in households randomly selected from the New South Wales electronic white pages. Main outcome measures Reported and preferred test and treatment (for comparison) decision-making, satisfaction with and anxiety about information on false results and side-effects; and effect of anxiety on desire for such information. Results Overall most women preferred to share test (94.6%) and treatment (91.2%) decision-making equally with their doctor, or to take a more active role, with only 5.4–8.9% reporting they wanted the doctor to make these decisions on their behalf. This pattern was consistent across all age groups. In general, women reported experiencing a decision-making role that was consistent with their preference. Women who had a usual doctor were more likely to report experiencing an active role in decision-making. More women reported receiving as much information as they wanted about the benefits of tests and treatment than about the side-effects of tests and treatment. Most women wanted information about the possibility of false test results (91.5%) and test side-effects (95.6%), but many reported the doctor never provided this information (false results = 40.0% and side-effects = 31.3%). A substantial proportion said this information would make them anxious (false results = 56.6% and side-effects = 43.1%), but reported they wanted the information anyway (false results = 77.6% and side-effects = 88.1%). Conclusions Women prefer an active role in test and treatment decision-making. Many women reported receiving inadequate information. If so, this may jeopardize informed decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is unclear whether the Control Preferences Scale (CPS) provides a suitable framework for eliciting women''s preferences for involvement in decision-making about diagnostic tests. The aims of this study were to assess the appropriateness of the role label approach for eliciting preferences for decision-making about diagnostic tests and to elicit women''s preferences for, and views about, decision-making for diagnostic tests. In-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 37 women who had previously participated in a population-based telephone survey. Analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that qualitative questions may be a more sensitive methodology for eliciting preferences than the role label approach as exemplified by the CPS. The analysis identified a number of issues associated with decision-making for diagnostic tests, including defining what a decision is, the rationale for the preference and factors that influence the preferred role such as the perceived seriousness of the test and potential outcomes. The role label approach used to elicit preferences for involvement in decision-making may be too simplistic. It may not fully capture the complexity of women''s thoughts about test decision-making, including how they define a decision and what factors affect their preference. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]