Examining the Dimensions of Cancer-Related Information Seeking and Scanning Behavior

Abstract

Recent decades have witnessed a growing emphasis on patients as active consumers of health information. The literature about cancer-related information focuses on active and purposeful information seeking, but a great deal of exposure to cancer-relevant information may happen less purposively (termed information scanning). This article presents results from an in-depth interview study that examined information seeking and scanning behavior in the context of cancer prevention and screening decisions among a diverse sample of people living in a major metropolitan area. Results suggest that information scanning is quite common, particularly for information related to screening tests. Information seeking is rarer and occurs primarily among those who also are information scanners. Respondents report using a greater variety of sources for information scanning than for information seeking, but participants were much more likely to report that their decisions were influenced by information received through seeking than through scanning. These findings shed new light on how individuals navigate the media environment and suggest future research should examine predictors and effects of less purposeful efforts to obtain cancer-related information.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was supported by National Cancer Institute Grant No. 5P50CA095856. The authors are grateful to Katrina Armstrong, Ibrahim Busnaina, Angela DeMichele, Martin Fishbein, Sonya Grier, Lela Jacobsohn, Megan Kasimatis, Giang Nguyen, Minsun Shim, and Aura Townsend for their contributions to instrument development, screening interviews, data collection, data cleaning, and/or coding.

Notes

¹The degree to which preventive and screening behavior reflects an actual “decision” likely differs across individuals. For example, some individuals may undergo annual mammograms simply because their doctor made an appointment for them without ever “deciding” to initiate the behavior. It is beyond the scope of this study to know to what extent these behaviors reflect conscious decision-making processes. Nevertheless, for the purpose of this study, the term decision is used to reflect specific preventive and screening behaviors, whether carefully considered or not.

²Colonoscopy can be viewed as a preventive or screening behavior. It is a preventive measure because it permits removing polyps before they become cancerous. Nonetheless, the study classified colonoscopy as a screening behavior because it is meant to detect disease or polyps that put one at the risk of disease rather than as a prevention behavior parallel to diet or exercise. All references to colonoscopy were coded under the category of screening.

³However, follow-up probes about the specific sources of information used for other screening tests were used if respondents mentioned them, including (but not limited to) breast self-exams (breast cancer), digital rectal exams (prostate cancer), sigmoidoscopy (colon cancer), or fecal occult blood tests (colon cancer).