BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

A panel of doctors sent shockwaves through the country last week, recommending that women above the age of 50 receive mammograms less frequently and women under the age of 50 largely forego what has become for many an annual routine.

According to the American Cancer Society, women have a 1 in 68 chance of developing breast cancer in their 40s. In the face of this threat and the conventional wisdom that prevention is the best medicine, the new guidelines were hardly well received.

Doctors, patients, and government officials expressed widespread skepticism in response to the panel’s recommendations. The American Cancer Society rebuffed the panel and said it is sticking to its recommendation that women over 40 should receive regular mammograms. In the midst of the high-profile healthcare reform debate, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius added to the confusion with a statement telling women to ignore the government-funded study.

Regardless of whether doctors are right on the medical data, they failed to appreciate the emotional concerns of their audience – women who live with the daily fear of developing breast cancer. If early screenings could save just one life, aren’t they worth it? That’s the key question facing doctors trying to change public attitudes about early mammograms. As the fallout shows, they have failed to provide a compelling answer to this question.

Pointing to scientific data is ineffective. Highlighting the costs versus the benefits may convince insurance companies, but it won’t move patients. What messages should the panel have offered?

The harm of unnecessary radiation is a compelling message, if true, and perhaps should have been more aggressively articulated. But whatever the case, the mammogram mess underscores an important lesson – understand and speak to the concerns of your audience. This is true in any communications exercise, and it is even more crucial when attempting to turn convention wisdom on its head.

Andrew Koneschusky is a Vice President at Levick Strategic Communications and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog. Connect with Levick on Twitter: @Levick.