Table 4.

Definitions and numbers of practitioner comments to women seeking BRCA1/2 testing

Type of comment	n (%)	Definition	Example
Encouraging mild	58 (32)	a single event	practitioner suggested testing, or provided patient with a referral
Encouraging strong	30 (17)	ongoing encouragement	practitioner described as ‘helping me through the hurdles’, or as being ‘generally encouraging’
Utility +	19 (11)	a comment that relayed some positive aspect of testing to the patient	‘my practitioner said this would be good for me psychologically’, or that it would help with planning medical management
Utility –	32 (18)	a comment that relayed some negative aspect of testing to the patient	practitioner stating that genetic testing is not effective, or that the patient’s cancer was probably not genetic
Insurance +	7 (4)	a comment that relayed some positive aspect of paying for the test or insurance coverage	practitioner stating that insurance might/will pay
Insurance –	15 (8)	a comment that relayed some negative aspect of paying for the test or insurance coverage	practitioner states that insurance discrimination exists, or that the test is very expensive
Neutral	18 (10)	impartial	participants report that their practitioner ‘provided information’, or ‘explained the mechanics of test’
Total	179 (100)