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Cancer-Related Information Seeking Among Cancer Survivors: Trends Over a Decade (2003–2013)

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Abstract

The demonstrated benefits of information seeking for cancer patients, coupled with increases in information availability, underscore the importance of monitoring patient information seeking experiences over time. We compared information seeking among cancer survivors to those with a family history of cancer and those with no history of cancer. We identified characteristics associated with greater information seeking among cancer survivors, key sources of cancer-related information, and changes in information source use over time. Data from five iterations of the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) spanning 2003 to 2013 were merged and analyzed. Frequencies, cross-tabulations, multivariate logistic regression, and multinomial regression analyses were conducted. All data were weighted to provide representative estimates of the adult US population. Cancer information seeking was reported most frequently by cancer survivors (69.8 %). The percentage of cancer survivors who reported information seeking increased from 66.8 % in 2003 to 80.8 % in 2013. Cancer information seeking was independently associated with age, education, and income; seeking was less likely among older adults, those with less education, and those with lower incomes. Compared to respondents in 2003, those in 2005 (odds ratio (OR) = 0.40, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 0.24–0.65) and 2008 (OR = .43, 95 % CI = 0.26–0.70) were about half as likely to use the Internet as the first source of cancer information compared to a healthcare provider. Despite overall increases in cancer information seeking and access to health information from a variety of sources, healthcare providers remain a key source of health information for cancer survivors.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by the Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, Mayo Clinic, 200 1st Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA

    Lila J. Finney Rutten, Amenah A. Agunwamba & Patrick Wilson

  2. Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA, USA

    Neetu Chawla

  3. Research Evaluation and Integration, PCORI, Washington, DC, USA

    Sana Vieux

  4. Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, Bentley University, Waltham, MA, USA

    Danielle Blanch-Hartigan

  5. Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Neeraj K. Arora, Kelly Blake & Bradford W. Hesse

Authors
  1. Lila J. Finney Rutten
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  2. Amenah A. Agunwamba
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  3. Patrick Wilson
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  4. Neetu Chawla
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  5. Sana Vieux
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  6. Danielle Blanch-Hartigan
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  7. Neeraj K. Arora
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  8. Kelly Blake
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  9. Bradford W. Hesse
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Correspondence to Lila J. Finney Rutten.

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Finney Rutten, L.J., Agunwamba, A.A., Wilson, P. et al. Cancer-Related Information Seeking Among Cancer Survivors: Trends Over a Decade (2003–2013). J Canc Educ 31, 348–357 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-015-0802-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-015-0802-7

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