Department of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA, USA.
Department of Pharmacy Practice, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Am J Mens Health. 2024 Mar-Apr;18(2):15579883241240339. doi: 10.1177/15579883241240339.
Information seeking anxiety is a multidimensional construct that is operationalized as having elements of worry, confusion, and disorganization. Much remains unknown about the ways information seeking anxiety operates among cancer patients in the United States. This study investigated the application of the information seeking anxiety concept among prostate cancer patients by documenting their assessment experiences and examining relationships between information seeking anxiety and treatment information search behaviors. A purposive sample of African American and Caucasian men ( = 63) within 5 years of being diagnosed with localized disease (stage T1 or T2) were recruited to participate through cancer registries, advertisements, and word-of-mouth. Participants completed a self-administered survey with items that collected demographic information, treatment information-seeking behaviors, and information seeking anxiety evaluations. All surveys were completed in one sitting and a majority of men (82.5%, = 52) completed the information seeking anxiety assessment with no assistance. During their first interactions with available sources of information (e.g., doctors, internet, peers), most survivors (95.2%, = 60) reported some level of information seeking anxiety. Specifically, 55.5% ( = 35) were confused about what to look for, 60.3% ( = 38) were worried they would not find the right information, 55.5% ( = 35) were uncomfortable with the search process, and 49.2% ( = 31) reported being disorganized. The composite information seeking anxiety measure was moderately correlated with men's self-reported time to start searching for treatment information ( = .02; = .306). Information seeking anxiety appears to delay the treatment information gathering activities of prostate cancer survivors with localized disease. This previously undocumented barrier to the delivery of prostate cancer care services should be investigated in other studies with larger and more diverse samples.
信息寻求焦虑是一个多维度的结构，其表现为担忧、困惑和无序等元素。在美国，关于癌症患者中信息寻求焦虑的运作方式，我们仍有很多未知之处。本研究通过记录前列腺癌患者的评估经验，并考察信息寻求焦虑与治疗信息搜索行为之间的关系，来研究信息寻求焦虑概念在前列腺癌患者中的应用。通过癌症登记处、广告和口碑，招募了 63 名被诊断为局限性疾病（T1 或 T2 期）后 5 年内的非裔美国人和白种男性，作为目的样本参与研究。参与者完成了一份自我管理的调查问卷，其中包括人口统计学信息、治疗信息搜索行为和信息寻求焦虑评估。所有的调查都是一次性完成的，大多数男性（82.5%，n=52）在没有帮助的情况下完成了信息寻求焦虑评估。在他们与现有信息来源（如医生、互联网、同龄人）的首次互动中，大多数幸存者（95.2%，n=60）报告了一定程度的信息寻求焦虑。具体来说，55.5%（n=35）对要寻找什么感到困惑，60.3%（n=38）担心找不到正确的信息，55.5%（n=35）对搜索过程感到不舒服，49.2%（n=31）表示感到无序。综合信息寻求焦虑量表与男性报告的开始搜索治疗信息的时间之间存在中度相关性（r=0.02，p=0.306）。信息寻求焦虑似乎会延迟局限性前列腺癌幸存者的治疗信息收集活动。在其他研究中，应该使用更大和更多样化的样本，来研究这一以前未记录的前列腺癌护理服务提供障碍。
