title: What is my cancer risk? Identifying how Internet-based cancer risk calculators convey individualized risk estimates to the public.
abstract: This study examined how Internet-based cancer risk calculators presented individualized risk estimates to the public. The 47 calculators varied in their use of empirically-supported risk communication strategies. The type of organization responsible for the website (government, cancer center, etc) was associated with differential use of risk communication strategies. Organizations should refer to the existing risk communication literature before developing an Internet-based cancer risk calculator.
authors.affiliation: Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch, Behavioral Research Program (BRP), Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Erika A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Waters
authors.forename: Helen W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Bradford W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Hesse
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D020407:Internet; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014584:User-Computer Interface