Psychological characteristics and satisfaction for the whole-body MRI in cancer screening

ABSTRACT

Whole–body magnetic resonance imaging (WB–MRI) is an all-in-one non-invasive technique that can be used also in early cancer diagnosis in asymptomatic individuals. The aim of this work was to identify the personal characteristics predicting the satisfaction for the WB-MRI in a sample of healthy subjects. Before undergoing a WB-MRI examination, 154 participants completed a questionnaire covering sociodemographics (age, gender, education), personality traits (agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, extroversion, openness), and expectations about the procedure (expected usefulness, risks, noise, lack of air, duration). After the examination, participants reported their satisfaction with the WB-MRI. Results showed that agreeableness had a significant and positive effect on satisfaction. Expectations about its utility and the possible noise had a positive effect on satisfaction. Expectations of lack of air showed a negative significant effect on satisfaction. Sociodemographics showed no significant effects. Our study confirmed the important impact of individuals’ personality and expectations on satisfaction with the procedure. Moreover, it provides useful insights for developing consultations aimed at increasing the acceptability of the procedure.

KEYWORDS:

• patient satisfaction
• personality
• healthy subjects
• magnetic resonance imaging
• attitudes
• WB-MRI

Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by the Italian Ministry of Health with Ricerca Corrente and 5 × 1000 funds and by Foundation IEO-CCM.

Disclosure statement

Dr. Summers is part owner of QMRI Tech, a company offering research support services in MRI. The other authors indicate no conflicts of interest..

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.