Consistency in Attitudes Across Cancer Screenings

Authors: Susan J Shaw James Vivian Kathryn M Orzech Cristina Huebner Torres Julie Armin

Publish Date: 2011/11/22

Volume: 27, Issue: 1, Pages: 165-171

PDF Link

Abstract

While a wide range of behavioral and psychosocial literature explores attitudes and beliefs towards cancer screenings fewer studies examine attitudes across cancer screening types We draw on quantitative and qualitative findings from a 4year prospective study based at a community health center serving diverse lowincome patients Methods included selfreport surveys n = 297 medical chart abstraction and several qualitative methods with a subsample of participants Participants included white African–American Vietnamese and Latino patients who were diagnosed with diabetes hypertension or both Patients’ attitudes both positive and negative towards cancer screening types were remarkably consistent across cancer screening types These effects were stronger among men than women Never having had a cancer screening was generally associated with more unfavorable attitudes towards all screenings Qualitative interviews indicate the importance of information circulated through social networks in shaping attitudes towards cancer screenings Condensed abstract In a multimethod study of attitudes towards cancer screening among medically underserved patients in a primary care setting we found that attitudes both positive and negative were remarkably consistent across cancer screening typesThe research described in this paper was supported by the National Cancer Institute grant number R01 CA128455 Susan J Shaw Principal Investigator The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes of Health There are no financial disclosures from any author

Keywords: