Understanding Cancer Worry Among Patients in a Community Clinic-Based Colorectal Cancer Screening Intervention Study.
Shannon M Christy, Alyssa Schmidt, Hsiao-Lan Wang and 11 others
PMID 29870517WHAT IT FOUND
Patients worried more about cancer in general than about colon cancer.
Feeling at higher risk was consistently linked to worry, including worry about screening results.
Key findings
0147% reported moderate-to-high general cancer worry, 23% reported moderate-to-high colorectal cancer worry, and 35% reported moderate-to-high worry about colorectal screening test results.
02Perceived susceptibility, meaning feeling at higher risk for colorectal cancer, was associated with general worry, colorectal cancer worry, and test-result worry in adjusted models.
03Marital status was associated with worry about screening test results, with married/partnered and divorced/widowed participants more likely than single participants to report it.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The data were cross-sectional, so they show association, not cause and effect. Participants came from one region and from clinics linked to a colorectal screening trial, so they may not represent patients who avoid clinics or refuse trial participation. The study looked at worry about general cancer, colorectal cancer, and colorectal test results; it does not show how patients worry about other cancers. The analysis used baseline worry only and did not test whether worry changed after the screening intervention.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The paper is listed as supported by NIH extramural and non-U.S. government funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that cancer worry causes screening avoidance or that addressing worry will increase screening. This was a baseline cross-sectional analysis, and baseline colorectal test-specific worry did not predict FIT kit uptake in the parent trial.