Saint Louis University Center for Health Outcomes Research (SLUCOR), Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2018 May 10;13(5):e0196446. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196446. eCollection 2018.
To examine predictors of information seeking behavior among individuals diagnosed with cancer versus those without.
Cross-sectional data from the Health Information National Trends Survey 4 Cycles 1-3 (October 2011 to November 2013) were analyzed for 10,774 survey respondents aged ≥18 years. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the effect of socio-demographic and behavioral factors on health information seeking.
Cancer diagnosis did not predict health information seeking. However, respondents diagnosed with cancer were more likely to seek health information from a healthcare practitioner. Compared to males, females were more likely to seek health information irrespective of cancer diagnosis. Regardless of cancer diagnosis, those without a regular healthcare provider were less likely to seek health information. Likelihood of seeking health information declined across education strata, and significantly worsened among respondents without high school diplomas irrespective of cancer diagnosis.
Respondents sought health information irrespective of cancer diagnosis. However, the source of health information sought differed by cancer diagnosis. Gender, education, and having a regular healthcare provider were predictors of health information seeking. Future health communication interventions targeting cancer patients and the general public should consider these findings for tailored interventions to achieve optimal results.
研究癌症患者与非癌症患者信息寻求行为的预测因素。
对健康信息全国趋势调查 4 个周期 1-3 期（2011 年 10 月至 2013 年 11 月）的横断面数据进行了分析，共纳入 10774 名年龄≥18 岁的调查对象。采用二项逻辑回归分析社会人口统计学和行为因素对健康信息寻求的影响。
癌症诊断并未预测健康信息寻求。然而，被诊断患有癌症的受访者更有可能向医疗保健从业者寻求健康信息。与男性相比，女性无论是否患有癌症，都更有可能寻求健康信息。无论是否患有癌症，没有常规医疗服务提供者的人更不可能寻求健康信息。寻求健康信息的可能性随教育程度的提高而降低，且无论是否患有癌症，没有高中文凭的受访者的情况明显恶化。
受访者无论是否患有癌症都寻求健康信息。然而，所寻求的健康信息来源因癌症诊断而异。性别、教育程度和有常规医疗服务提供者是健康信息寻求的预测因素。未来针对癌症患者和普通公众的健康传播干预措施应考虑这些发现，以便为实现最佳效果量身定制干预措施。
