Predictive factors based on the health belief model on cancer screening behaviour in first degree relatives of patients with Lynch syndrome-associated colorectal cancer.
Jiaojiao Gu, Shumin Jia, Huaxiang Chao and 2 others
PMID 37128484WHAT IT FOUND
Only 23% of high-risk relatives of patients with Lynch syndrome-associated colorectal cancer had undergone screening.
Older age, being male, married, having higher disease knowledge, and believing in screening benefits and self-efficacy predicted this behaviour.
Key findings
01Less than a quarter of the first-degree relatives had undergone screening for Lynch syndrome-associated cancers.
02Diagnosis of the index patient, knowledge level, health beliefs, age, sex, and marital status were identified as predictive factors of screening behaviour.
03Perceived benefits and self-efficacy were the only two domains of health belief that predicted screening behaviour in the regression model.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was exploratory and cross-sectional, so it cannot determine causality between factors and screening behaviour. Participants were recruited from a single hospital in China, which limits the generalizability of the results to other populations or healthcare systems. The analysis did not account for the clustering of data from relatives within the same family. The study did not include a screening support system as a predictive factor, which may have influenced the results.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The study was funded by the Medical Research Fund of Guangdong Province, which did not participate in the design, implementation, or analysis.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the identified predictive factors as proven causes of screening behaviour. The cross-sectional design only shows associations at a single point in time, and the study did not test whether changing knowledge or health beliefs actually increases screening rates.