Loehrer P J, Greger H A, Weinberger M, Musick B, Miller M, Nichols C, Bryan J, Higgs D, Brock D
Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
Cancer. 1991 Oct 1;68(7):1665-71. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19911001)68:7<1665::aid-cncr2820680734>3.0.co;2-3.
Americans living in poverty experience a higher incidence of and greater mortality from cancer than the nonpoor. At least 50% of the difference in mortality is believed to be due to delay in diagnosis, although risk-promoting lifestyles and behaviors also contribute to decreased survival. A potential exacerbating factor among the poor is inadequate information and knowledge about cancer and its treatment. Interviews were conducted with 128 cancer patients from a socioeconomically disadvantaged population to assess knowledge of cancer and its treatment and to evaluate care-seeking behaviors. Results indicated that although patients relied primarily on their physicians for information about their disease and treatment, a number of misconceptions regarding cancer existed in this population. Notably, nearly 50% of the patients surveyed either denied or did not know that smoking was related to the development of cancer. Additionally, patients frequently reported inappropriate care-seeking behaviors when asked to respond to a series of common disease-related signs or symptoms. These findings suggest that misinformation and misconceptions regarding cancer and its treatment among patients in this sample may contribute to inappropriate care-seeking behaviors.
生活在贫困中的美国人患癌症的几率比非贫困人口更高，死亡率也更高。据信，至少50%的死亡率差异是由于诊断延迟造成的，尽管促进风险的生活方式和行为也会导致生存率下降。穷人中一个潜在的加剧因素是对癌症及其治疗的信息和知识不足。对128名来自社会经济弱势群体的癌症患者进行了访谈，以评估他们对癌症及其治疗的知识，并评估他们的就医行为。结果表明，尽管患者主要依靠医生获取有关其疾病和治疗的信息，但该人群中存在一些关于癌症的误解。值得注意的是，近50%的受访患者否认或不知道吸烟与癌症的发生有关。此外，当被要求对一系列常见的疾病相关体征或症状做出反应时，患者经常报告不适当的就医行为。这些发现表明，该样本中患者对癌症及其治疗的错误信息和误解可能导致不适当的就医行为。
