Perspectives from a multi-stakeholder workshop for implementing a risk-stratified breast cancer screening program in Canada
Implementing population-wide risk-stratified breast screening (RSBS) requires coordinated planning across diverse stakeholders and adaptation within complex healthcare systems. We convened a multi-stakeholder workshop with 34 policymakers, breast screening program leaders and healthcare professionals across Canada. Participants co-envisioned an RSBS program and focused on defining care pathways, the implementation roadmap, stakeholder engagement, and workforce training. A national, flexible RSBS strategy was proposed with multiple entry points and timings for risk assessment, interoperable information technology systems, phased roll-out, and an embedded learning healthcare system. The resulting actionable plans support RSBS implementation in Canada and offer transferable insights for planning RSBS in varied international settings.
Authors
- Nancy Wadden
- Nora Pashayan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0843-2468)
- Vivianne Freitas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2563-0861)
- Annie Turgeon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7816-6133)
- Michael Wolfson
- June Carroll
- Hermann Nabi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7832-0413)
- Mathias Cavaillé (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4079-4891)
- Jacques Simard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6906-3390)
- Jean M. Seely (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0367-2219)
- Caroline Samson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7924-3456)
- Amanda J. Sheppard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5240-2704)
- Christine Molnar
- Gregory Doyle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1321-8178)
- Cynthia Mbuya-Bienge
- Laurence Eloy
- Isabelle Trop (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7431-5687)
- Marc Venturi
- Nareh Safieh-Garabedian
- Jennifer Brooks
- Meghan Walker
- MJ DeCoteau
- Jocelyne Chiquette
- Andrea Eisen
- Penny Soucy
- Kim Hender
- Supriya Kulkarni
- Anna Chiarelli
- Antonis C. Antoniou
- Samantha Feinberg
- Romeo Tagyen
Institutions
- Mount Sinai Hospital (CA)
- Memorial University of Newfoundland (CA)
- Sunnybrook Health Science Centre (CA)
- University of Ottawa (CA)
- University of Calgary (CA)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Women's College Hospital (CA)
- Health Sciences Centre (CA)
- Cegep regional de Lanaudiere (CA)
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Center (GB)
- Public Health Ontario (CA)
- St. John’s Health Sciences Centre (CA)
- Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research (CA)
- Centre Intégré de Santé et Services Sociaux de Chaudière-Appalache (CA)
- Sinai Health System (CA)
- Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux (Québec) (CA)
- Government of Nunavut (CA)
- Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CA)
- MRC Epidemiology Unit (GB)
- Queen Elizabeth Hospital (BB)
- Health PEI (CA)
- Université Laval (CA)
- Sunnybrook Research Institute
- Université de Montréal (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Medicine
- Published
- 2026-04-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-026-01582-x
- Primary Topic
- Global Cancer Incidence and Screening
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Genome Canada
- Sunnybrook Research Institute
- Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec
- Génome Québec
- Fondation du cancer du sein du Québec
- Government of Canada
- Partenariat Canadien Contre Le Cancer
- Health Canada
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation