Peter Vedsted

TY - JOUR

T1 - Cancer beliefs in cancer survivors, cancer relatives and persons with no cancer experience

AU - Pedersen, Anette Fischer

AU - Vedsted, Peter

PY - 2019/7

Y1 - 2019/7

N2 - Aims: Negative cancer beliefs have been associated with late stage at cancer diagnosis. High levels of negative cancer beliefs have been found among individuals with low socioeconomic position and ethnic minority women, but the impact of cancer experience on cancer beliefs is unexamined. The aim of this study was to examine whether cancer beliefs are associated with cancer experience. Methods: This was a cross-sectional population-based study. Telephone interviews of 2992 Danish residents (30+) were carried out using the Awareness and Beliefs about Cancer Measure (ABC). Respondents reported whether they or someone close had been diagnosed with cancer and whether they agreed/disagreed with three positively and three negatively framed cancer beliefs. Results: Respondents with someone close diagnosed was reference group. Compared with these, respondents with no cancer experience (RR adj=0.91, 95% CI=0.84–0.98) or who had had cancer themselves (RR adj=0.87, 0.77–0.98) were less likely to believe that cancer treatment is worse than the cancer itself, and respondents with no cancer experience were less likely to believe that a diagnosis of cancer is a death sentence (RR adj=0.83, 0.70–0.98), but more likely to report that they did not want to know if they had cancer (RR adj=1.31, 1.01–1.71). Conclusions: The results suggest that cancer beliefs are sensitive to cancer experience. This is an important addition to previous results focusing on the association between cancer beliefs and static factors such as socioeconomic position and ethnicity. Since cancer beliefs may determine health-related behaviour, it is important that negative cancer beliefs are addressed and possibly reframed in population-based interventions.

AB - Aims: Negative cancer beliefs have been associated with late stage at cancer diagnosis. High levels of negative cancer beliefs have been found among individuals with low socioeconomic position and ethnic minority women, but the impact of cancer experience on cancer beliefs is unexamined. The aim of this study was to examine whether cancer beliefs are associated with cancer experience. Methods: This was a cross-sectional population-based study. Telephone interviews of 2992 Danish residents (30+) were carried out using the Awareness and Beliefs about Cancer Measure (ABC). Respondents reported whether they or someone close had been diagnosed with cancer and whether they agreed/disagreed with three positively and three negatively framed cancer beliefs. Results: Respondents with someone close diagnosed was reference group. Compared with these, respondents with no cancer experience (RR adj=0.91, 95% CI=0.84–0.98) or who had had cancer themselves (RR adj=0.87, 0.77–0.98) were less likely to believe that cancer treatment is worse than the cancer itself, and respondents with no cancer experience were less likely to believe that a diagnosis of cancer is a death sentence (RR adj=0.83, 0.70–0.98), but more likely to report that they did not want to know if they had cancer (RR adj=1.31, 1.01–1.71). Conclusions: The results suggest that cancer beliefs are sensitive to cancer experience. This is an important addition to previous results focusing on the association between cancer beliefs and static factors such as socioeconomic position and ethnicity. Since cancer beliefs may determine health-related behaviour, it is important that negative cancer beliefs are addressed and possibly reframed in population-based interventions.

KW - Cancer beliefs

KW - Denmark

KW - cancer experience

KW - population-based

KW - telephone interview

KW - DIAGNOSIS

KW - AUSTRALIA

KW - BENCHMARKING PARTNERSHIP

KW - AWARENESS

KW - ATTITUDES

KW - DENMARK

KW - HEALTH BEHAVIOR-CHANGE

KW - WOMEN

KW - LATE-STAGE

KW - NURSES

KW - Humans

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Family/psychology

KW - Male

KW - Aged, 80 and over

KW - Adult

KW - Female

KW - Neoplasms/epidemiology

KW - Cancer Survivors/psychology

KW - Cross-Sectional Studies

KW - Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice

KW - Denmark/epidemiology

KW - Aged

U2 - 10.1177/1403494817715380

DO - 10.1177/1403494817715380

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 28673193

VL - 47

SP - 497

EP - 503

JO - Scandinavian Journal of Public Health

JF - Scandinavian Journal of Public Health

SN - 1403-4948

IS - 5

ER -