Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, 2001 N Soto Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA.
Department of Dermatology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Support Care Cancer. 2018 Apr;26(4):1305-1313. doi: 10.1007/s00520-017-3956-5. Epub 2017 Nov 9.
Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) report high unmet information needs. This study examined the prevalence of cancer-related information-seeking among CCS and investigated associations between information-seeking behavior and positive health outcomes such as follow-up care.
Participants (n = 193) were young adult CCS diagnosed with cancer in Los Angeles County, 54% of Hispanic ethnicity, with a mean age of 19.87, in remission, and at least 2 years from completion of treatment. CCS were asked where they accessed health information related to their cancer with response options categorized into four information domains: hospital resources, social media, other survivors, and family members. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess variables associated with each information domain, including sociodemographics, post-traumatic growth (i.e., reporting positive changes since cancer diagnosis), health care engagement, level of education, and health insurance status.
Hospital resources were the most commonly accessed information domain (65.3%), and CCS of Hispanic ethnicity (vs. non-Hispanic) were more likely to access this source. Seeking information from other cancer survivors was positively associated with follow-up care and post-traumatic growth. Hispanic CCS were marginally less likely to seek information from other survivors and family than non-Hispanics.
While CCS obtain information from a variety of sources, hospital resources are an important site for access, particularly for individuals of Hispanic ethnicity. Information sharing between survivors may promote positive health care engagement; however, Hispanic CCS may be less likely to utilize this resource and may face barriers in information sharing with other cancer survivors.
儿童癌症幸存者（CCS）报告存在较高的未满足的信息需求。本研究调查了 CCS 癌症相关信息寻求的普遍程度，并探讨了信息寻求行为与积极健康结果（如随访护理）之间的关联。
研究对象（n=193）为洛杉矶县确诊癌症的年轻成年 CCS，其中 54%为西班牙裔，平均年龄为 19.87 岁，处于缓解期，且距离治疗结束至少 2 年。CCS 被问及他们在哪里获取与癌症相关的健康信息，回答选项分为四个信息领域：医院资源、社交媒体、其他幸存者和家庭成员。多变量逻辑回归用于评估与每个信息领域相关的变量，包括社会人口统计学、创伤后成长（即报告癌症诊断后积极变化）、医疗保健参与度、教育水平和医疗保险状况。
医院资源是最常被访问的信息领域（65.3%），西班牙裔 CCS（与非西班牙裔相比）更有可能访问该资源。向其他癌症幸存者寻求信息与随访护理和创伤后成长呈正相关。西班牙裔 CCS 与非西班牙裔相比，寻求其他幸存者和家庭成员信息的可能性略低。
尽管 CCS 从各种来源获取信息，但医院资源是获取信息的重要场所，特别是对西班牙裔个体而言。幸存者之间的信息共享可能促进积极的医疗保健参与度；然而，西班牙裔 CCS 可能较少利用这一资源，并且在与其他癌症幸存者共享信息方面可能面临障碍。
