California Baptist University, Riverside, CA, USA.
Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA.
J Prim Care Community Health. 2024 Jan-Dec;15:21501319241243198. doi: 10.1177/21501319241243198.
When examining health literacy and disease specific knowledge levels across ethnicities and communities, ethnic minority groups are known to be at a higher risk of being below the average health literacy threshold which is a factor linked to poor health status and higher mortality rates. This study examined disease specific knowledge levels, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility surrounding anal cancer and HPV-related screening behaviors.
The following research questions were explored: (1) "What are the common themes and/or beliefs when asked about anal cancer, HPV, and preventive screening?" and (2) "What are the common themes and beliefs surrounding the severity and susceptibility of contracting anal cancer?". This study utilized a cross-sectional design to survey 26 individuals regarding their knowledge level and perspectives regarding anal cancer and HPV. An 8-question survey was developed de novo based on an application of the Health Belief Model (HBM) elements. This study employed thematic analysis to explore critical themes to construct a model to understand knowledge levels, attitudes, and risk perceptions regarding anal cancer and intention to participate in preventive screenings. The fundamental attitudes and themes related to anal cancer risk and intention to participate in preventative screenings were elicited using a qualitative descriptive technique. Coded data was utilized to analyze themes based on (1) knowledge and (2) perceived risk, both severity and susceptibility.
Overall, the findings indicate very low levels of knowledge regarding screening, anal cancer, and HPV across all genders. The low levels of anal cancer and HPV knowledge were seen in 13 coded segments (50% of surveys) which showed no familiarity with or comprehension of HPV, and 4 coded segments indicated no familiarity with anal cancer. In addition, 15 respondents (57%) had low or no preventive or screening-related knowledge. While some respondents (46%) illustrated high perceived severity for anal cancer, only 23% indicated high perceived susceptibility for anal cancer.
The results from this study may be used to inform practitioners, providers, and policymakers in developing interventions addressing low levels of understanding and disease specific knowledge surrounding anal cancer in support of creating a standardized health screening procedure.
在检查不同种族和社区的健康素养和特定疾病知识水平时，少数民族群体被认为处于低于平均健康素养门槛的更高风险中，这一因素与较差的健康状况和更高的死亡率有关。本研究检查了针对肛门癌和 HPV 相关筛查行为的特定疾病知识水平、感知严重程度和感知易感性。
本研究探讨了以下研究问题：（1）“在询问肛门癌、HPV 和预防性筛查时，常见的主题和/或信念是什么？”和（2）“围绕感染肛门癌的严重程度和易感性有哪些常见的主题和信念？”。本研究采用横断面设计，对 26 名个体进行调查，了解他们对肛门癌和 HPV 的知识水平和观点。根据健康信念模型（HBM）要素的应用，新开发了一个 8 个问题的调查。本研究采用主题分析来探索关键主题，以构建一个理解肛门癌和 HPV 知识水平、态度和风险认知以及参与预防性筛查意愿的模型。使用定性描述技术引出与肛门癌风险和参与预防性筛查意愿相关的基本态度和主题。使用编码数据根据（1）知识和（2）感知风险（严重程度和易感性）分析主题。
总体而言，研究结果表明，所有性别对筛查、肛门癌和 HPV 的知识水平都非常低。在 13 个编码片段（调查的 50%）中，没有对 HPV 的熟悉度或理解，表明对 HPV 缺乏了解，在 4 个编码片段中，表明对肛门癌缺乏了解。此外，15 名受访者（57%）对预防或筛查相关知识了解甚少或完全不了解。虽然一些受访者（46%）对肛门癌的严重程度感知较高，但只有 23%的受访者对肛门癌的易感性感知较高。
本研究的结果可用于为从业者、提供者和政策制定者提供信息，以制定干预措施，解决围绕肛门癌的理解水平和特定疾病知识水平较低的问题，支持制定标准化的健康筛查程序。
