Enhanced counseling for women undergoing BRCA1/2 testing: impact on subsequent decision making about risk reduction behaviors

Abstract

The authors evaluated the impact of an enhanced counseling intervention, designed to promote well-informed decision making for follow-up risk reduction options for ovarian cancer, among high-risk women undergoing BRCA1/2 testing (N = 77). Following standard genetic counseling, participants received either an enhanced counseling session--designed to help participants anticipate their reactions to possible test outcomes and plan for postresult consequences--or a general health information control session. One week after disclosure of test results, women in the enhanced counseling group experienced a greater reduction in avoidant ideation, suggesting more complete processing of risk feedback. At the 6-month follow-up, intervention respondents reported seeking out more information about prophylactic oophorectomy and were more likely to have actually undergone preventive surgery. The results indicate that the use of enhanced counseling can play an important role in decision making about risk reduction behaviors following BRCA1/2 testing.