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Purpose <p>Numeracy, the ability to understand numerical concepts, is a key component of health literacy. This study examines rates of innumeracy and its association with demographics to inform patient education strategies in plastic surgery.</p> Methods <p>A survey was distributed via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants rated the perceived safety of breast augmentation using a 5-point Likert scale based on fictional statistics presented as percentages, fractions, pie charts, and pictograms. They then assessed and rated their willingness to consider breast augmentation using a novel implant option compared to a traditional implant using odds ratios, absolute risk, and risk ratios.</p> Results <p>Among 578 participants (median age: 32 years), surgical safety perception varied significantly by data presentation. Positively framed statistics (e.g., “97% success rate”) received higher ratings on 5-point Likert scale (mean: 3.9, SD: 0.7) than negatively framed data (e.g., “3% complication rate”; mean: 3.6, SD: 1.0). Visual formats such as pie charts (mean: 3.9, SD: 0.8) and pictograms (mean: 3.7, SD: 0.9) led to higher safety ratings than numerical representations. Only 26% of participants rated the same complication rate consistently across all formats, and just 5.4% correctly identified the safest implant. Higher income (&gt; $100,000; <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) and postgraduate education (<i>p</i> = 0.037) were associated with improved numeracy. Bar graphs were the most misinterpreted format for odds ratios, with only 42.4% providing correct responses.</p> Conclusion <p>Current healthcare data presentation may lead to misinterpretation. Plastic surgeons should address patient innumeracy in consultations and education. Optimizing numeracy strategies can improve patient understanding and decision-making.</p> Level of Evidence V <p>This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors <a href="https://www.springer.com/00266">www.springer.com/00266</a>.</p>

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Deciphering the Data: Health Numeracy and Its Impact on Decision-Making in Breast Augmentation

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月17日

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  • Morvarid Mehdizadeh,
  • Daniela Lee,
  • Reinhard M. Knerr,
  • Maria J. Escobar-Domingo,
  • Jose Foppiani,
  • James E. Fanning,
  • Amitai S. Miller,
  • Bernard T. Lee

摘要

Purpose

Numeracy, the ability to understand numerical concepts, is a key component of health literacy. This study examines rates of innumeracy and its association with demographics to inform patient education strategies in plastic surgery.

Methods

A survey was distributed via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants rated the perceived safety of breast augmentation using a 5-point Likert scale based on fictional statistics presented as percentages, fractions, pie charts, and pictograms. They then assessed and rated their willingness to consider breast augmentation using a novel implant option compared to a traditional implant using odds ratios, absolute risk, and risk ratios.

Results

Among 578 participants (median age: 32 years), surgical safety perception varied significantly by data presentation. Positively framed statistics (e.g., “97% success rate”) received higher ratings on 5-point Likert scale (mean: 3.9, SD: 0.7) than negatively framed data (e.g., “3% complication rate”; mean: 3.6, SD: 1.0). Visual formats such as pie charts (mean: 3.9, SD: 0.8) and pictograms (mean: 3.7, SD: 0.9) led to higher safety ratings than numerical representations. Only 26% of participants rated the same complication rate consistently across all formats, and just 5.4% correctly identified the safest implant. Higher income (> $100,000; p < 0.001) and postgraduate education (p = 0.037) were associated with improved numeracy. Bar graphs were the most misinterpreted format for odds ratios, with only 42.4% providing correct responses.

Conclusion

Current healthcare data presentation may lead to misinterpretation. Plastic surgeons should address patient innumeracy in consultations and education. Optimizing numeracy strategies can improve patient understanding and decision-making.

Level of Evidence V

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.