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The Effect of Experiential Knowledge on Construction of Risk Perception in Hereditary Breast/Ovarian Cancer
Author(s) -
d'AgincourtCanning Lori
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of genetic counseling
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1573-3599
pISSN - 1059-7700
DOI - 10.1007/s10897-005-1500-0
Subject(s) - experiential learning , genetic counseling , breast cancer , risk perception , experiential knowledge , genetic testing , disease , ovarian cancer , qualitative research , perception , medicine , psychology , cancer , family medicine , pathology , genetics , epistemology , pedagogy , sociology , biology , neuroscience , philosophy , social science
The purpose of this study was to explore the connection between experiential knowledge of hereditary breast/ovarian cancer and understandings of personal cancer risk. Using a qualitative research design, the investigator conducted in‐depth interviews with 53 individuals (45 female, 8 male) from families at high‐risk for hereditary breast/ovarian cancer. Study results showed that two forms of experiential knowledge, empathetic and embodied knowledge, were integral to participants’ constructions of their cancer risk. They also illustrated that knowledge derived from experience often took precedence over objective clinical estimates of risk. The paper discusses the clinical implications of these findings and suggests that counseling strategies, which expand upon patient's lived experience and knowledge of the disease, may enhance communication of genetic risk. Assessment of experiential knowledge promises to suggest new ways to frame genetic information that will enable people to better understand their objective risk or to modify exaggerated and/or inaccurate risk perceptions.