OBJECTIVE: Some degree of general worry about cancer may facilitate screening participation, but specific worries about the potential consequences (e.g. treatment, death) may act as deterrents. No studies have examined these associations in the same sample. We assessed associations between general versus specific cancer worries and cancer screening participation. METHODS: In 2016, a population-based cross-sectional survey of adults living in England was carried out. This paper reports analyses of a subsample (n = 1694). Measures included (i) frequency of general cancer worry, (ii) specific worries about the emotional and physical consequences of a cancer diagnosis, and (iii) specific worries about the social consequences of a cancer diagnosis. Logistic regression analyses examined their association with self-reported screening uptake among participants eligible for cervical (n = 671), breast (n = 323), and colorectal (n = 368) cancer screening. RESULTS: Frequency of general cancer worry was not associated with screening participation. Specific worry about the emotional and physical consequences increased the odds of participants reporting regular uptake of colorectal screening (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.04-1.90). Specific worry about the social consequences of diagnosis was negatively associated with regular attendance for cervical and breast screening in unadjusted analyses only. In adjusted models, the associations were no longer statistically significant for cervical (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.65-1.03) or breast (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.45-1.04) screening. CONCLUSIONS: Specific worries about cancer may be differentially associated with participation across screening programmes. Further research is needed, as interventions to optimise informed participation may be improved if the specific worries associated with low participation in each programme are understood.
OBJECTIVE: Some degree of general worry about cancer may facilitate screening participation, but specific worries about the potential consequences (e.g. treatment, death) may act as deterrents. No studies have examined these associations in the same sample. We assessed associations between general versus specific cancer worries and cancer screening participation. METHODS: In 2016, a population-based cross-sectional survey of adults living in England was carried out. This paper reports analyses of a subsample (n = 1694). Measures included (i) frequency of general cancer worry, (ii) specific worries about the emotional and physical consequences of a cancer diagnosis, and (iii) specific worries about the social consequences of a cancer diagnosis. Logistic regression analyses examined their association with self-reported screening uptake among participants eligible for cervical (n = 671), breast (n = 323), and colorectal (n = 368) cancer screening. RESULTS: Frequency of general cancer worry was not associated with screening participation. Specific worry about the emotional and physical consequences increased the odds of participants reporting regular uptake of colorectal screening (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.04-1.90). Specific worry about the social consequences of diagnosis was negatively associated with regular attendance for cervical and breast screening in unadjusted analyses only. In adjusted models, the associations were no longer statistically significant for cervical (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.65-1.03) or breast (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.45-1.04) screening. CONCLUSIONS: Specific worries about cancer may be differentially associated with participation across screening programmes. Further research is needed, as interventions to optimise informed participation may be improved if the specific worries associated with low participation in each programme are understood.
Entities:
Keywords:
Cancer worry; breast screening; cancer fear; cancer screening; cervical screening; colorectal screening; uptake
Authors: Silvia Flores-Luevano; Navkiran K Shokar; Alok Kumar Dwivedi; Gurjeet S Shokar; Sandrine N Defeu Journal: Breast Cancer (Auckl) Date: 2020-08-26
Authors: Robert S Kerrison; Andrew Prentice; Sarah Marshall; Sameer Choglay; Michael Levitan; Marsha Alter; Alex Ghanouni; Lesley McGregor; Christian von Wagner Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2021-03-16 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Charlotte Vrinten; Sandro Stoffel; Rachael H Dodd; Jo Waller; Yoryos Lyratzopoulos; Christian von Wagner Journal: J Med Screen Date: 2019-05-01 Impact factor: 2.136