Godward Jess, Riordan Benjamin C, Winter Taylor, Ashton John C, Hunter John, Scarf Damian
Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
J Oncol. 2022 Aug 26;2022:2183055. doi: 10.1155/2022/2183055. eCollection 2022.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Aotearoa New Zealand, killing over 1,700 people each year. Despite the burden of lung cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand, the popular press has referred to it as the cancer type that no one talks about. Here, we investigate one factor that may contribute to this state of affairs: lung cancer stigma.
Participants were university students and members of the general public. University students were recruited via an online experiment participation system in 2021. Members of the public were recruited via social media. All participants completed the Cancer Stigma Scale (CSS) for one of five cancer types (lung, cervical, breast, skin, or bowel). The CSS is a 25-item scale with six subscales: awkwardness, avoidance, severity, policy opposition, personal responsibility, and financial discrimination.
The mean age of participants was 24.3 (Standard Deviation = 10.4). Data from each subscale were submitted to an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with cancer type as a between-participant factor (5: lung, cervical, breast, skin, or bowel) and stigma as the dependent variable. Relative to most other cancer types, people were more likely to avoid someone with lung cancer, view interacting with someone with lung cancer as more awkward, and view people with lung cancer as being responsible for their condition.
The Health Research Council of New Zealand recently funded the very first trial of lung cancer screening in Aotearoa New Zealand. The current study suggests that addressing stigma will be essential for the success of such programs, with stigma likely influencing those who engage in such trials.
肺癌是新西兰癌症死亡的主要原因，每年导致超过1700人死亡。尽管肺癌给新西兰带来沉重负担，但大众媒体却称其为无人谈论的癌症类型。在此，我们探究可能导致这种情况的一个因素：肺癌污名。
参与者为大学生和普通公众。大学生通过2021年的在线实验参与系统招募。普通公众通过社交媒体招募。所有参与者针对五种癌症类型（肺癌、宫颈癌、乳腺癌、皮肤癌或肠癌）之一完成癌症污名量表（CSS）。CSS是一个包含25个条目的量表，有六个子量表：尴尬感、回避、严重性、政策反对、个人责任和经济歧视。
参与者的平均年龄为24.3岁（标准差 = 10.4）。每个子量表的数据都进行了协方差分析（ANCOVA），癌症类型作为参与者间因素（5种：肺癌、宫颈癌、乳腺癌、皮肤癌或肠癌），污名作为因变量。相对于大多数其他癌症类型，人们更有可能回避肺癌患者，认为与肺癌患者互动更尴尬，并认为肺癌患者应对自己的病情负责。
新西兰健康研究委员会最近资助了新西兰首例肺癌筛查试验。当前研究表明，消除污名对于此类项目的成功至关重要，污名可能会影响参与此类试验的人群。
