Cargando…

Symptom perceptions and help-seeking behaviour prior to lung and colorectal cancer diagnoses: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND. Lung and colorectal cancer are common and have high UK mortality rates. Early diagnosis is important in reducing cancer mortality, but the literature on lung and colorectal cancers suggests many people wait for a considerable time before presenting symptoms. OBJECTIVE. To gain in-depth u...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: McLachlan, Sarah, Mansell, Gemma, Sanders, Tom, Yardley, Sarah, van der Windt, Daniëlle, Brindle, Lucy, Chew-Graham, Carolyn, Little, Paul
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4576759/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26099812
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmv048
_version_ 1782390895563243520
author McLachlan, Sarah
Mansell, Gemma
Sanders, Tom
Yardley, Sarah
van der Windt, Daniëlle
Brindle, Lucy
Chew-Graham, Carolyn
Little, Paul
author_facet McLachlan, Sarah
Mansell, Gemma
Sanders, Tom
Yardley, Sarah
van der Windt, Daniëlle
Brindle, Lucy
Chew-Graham, Carolyn
Little, Paul
author_sort McLachlan, Sarah
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND. Lung and colorectal cancer are common and have high UK mortality rates. Early diagnosis is important in reducing cancer mortality, but the literature on lung and colorectal cancers suggests many people wait for a considerable time before presenting symptoms. OBJECTIVE. To gain in-depth understanding of patients’ interpretations of symptoms of lung and colorectal cancer prior to diagnosis, and to explore processes leading to help-seeking. METHODS. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients diagnosed with lung (N = 9) or colorectal (N = 20) cancer within the previous 12 months. Patients were asked about symptoms experienced in the period preceding diagnosis, their interpretations of symptoms, and decision making for help-seeking. Thematic analysis was conducted and comparisons drawn within and across the patient groups. RESULTS. Patients were proactive and rational in addressing symptoms; many developed alternative, non-cancer explanations based on their knowledge and experience. Discussions with important others frequently provided the impetus to consult, but paradoxically others often initially reinforced alternative explanations. Fear and denial did not emerge as barriers to help-seeking, but help-seeking was triggered when patients’ alternative explanations could no longer be maintained, for instance due to persistence or progression of symptoms. CONCLUSION. Patients’ reasoning, decision making and interpersonal interactions prior to diagnosis were complex. Prompting patients for additional detail on symptoms within consultations could elicit critical contextual information to aid referral decisions. Findings also have implications for the design of public health campaigns.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-4576759
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2015
publisher Oxford University Press
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-45767592015-09-25 Symptom perceptions and help-seeking behaviour prior to lung and colorectal cancer diagnoses: a qualitative study McLachlan, Sarah Mansell, Gemma Sanders, Tom Yardley, Sarah van der Windt, Daniëlle Brindle, Lucy Chew-Graham, Carolyn Little, Paul Fam Pract Qualitative Research BACKGROUND. Lung and colorectal cancer are common and have high UK mortality rates. Early diagnosis is important in reducing cancer mortality, but the literature on lung and colorectal cancers suggests many people wait for a considerable time before presenting symptoms. OBJECTIVE. To gain in-depth understanding of patients’ interpretations of symptoms of lung and colorectal cancer prior to diagnosis, and to explore processes leading to help-seeking. METHODS. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients diagnosed with lung (N = 9) or colorectal (N = 20) cancer within the previous 12 months. Patients were asked about symptoms experienced in the period preceding diagnosis, their interpretations of symptoms, and decision making for help-seeking. Thematic analysis was conducted and comparisons drawn within and across the patient groups. RESULTS. Patients were proactive and rational in addressing symptoms; many developed alternative, non-cancer explanations based on their knowledge and experience. Discussions with important others frequently provided the impetus to consult, but paradoxically others often initially reinforced alternative explanations. Fear and denial did not emerge as barriers to help-seeking, but help-seeking was triggered when patients’ alternative explanations could no longer be maintained, for instance due to persistence or progression of symptoms. CONCLUSION. Patients’ reasoning, decision making and interpersonal interactions prior to diagnosis were complex. Prompting patients for additional detail on symptoms within consultations could elicit critical contextual information to aid referral decisions. Findings also have implications for the design of public health campaigns. Oxford University Press 2015-10 2015-06-22 /pmc/articles/PMC4576759/ /pubmed/26099812 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmv048 Text en © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
spellingShingle Qualitative Research
McLachlan, Sarah
Mansell, Gemma
Sanders, Tom
Yardley, Sarah
van der Windt, Daniëlle
Brindle, Lucy
Chew-Graham, Carolyn
Little, Paul
Symptom perceptions and help-seeking behaviour prior to lung and colorectal cancer diagnoses: a qualitative study
title Symptom perceptions and help-seeking behaviour prior to lung and colorectal cancer diagnoses: a qualitative study
title_full Symptom perceptions and help-seeking behaviour prior to lung and colorectal cancer diagnoses: a qualitative study
title_fullStr Symptom perceptions and help-seeking behaviour prior to lung and colorectal cancer diagnoses: a qualitative study
title_full_unstemmed Symptom perceptions and help-seeking behaviour prior to lung and colorectal cancer diagnoses: a qualitative study
title_short Symptom perceptions and help-seeking behaviour prior to lung and colorectal cancer diagnoses: a qualitative study
title_sort symptom perceptions and help-seeking behaviour prior to lung and colorectal cancer diagnoses: a qualitative study
topic Qualitative Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4576759/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26099812
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmv048
work_keys_str_mv AT mclachlansarah symptomperceptionsandhelpseekingbehaviourpriortolungandcolorectalcancerdiagnosesaqualitativestudy
AT mansellgemma symptomperceptionsandhelpseekingbehaviourpriortolungandcolorectalcancerdiagnosesaqualitativestudy
AT sanderstom symptomperceptionsandhelpseekingbehaviourpriortolungandcolorectalcancerdiagnosesaqualitativestudy
AT yardleysarah symptomperceptionsandhelpseekingbehaviourpriortolungandcolorectalcancerdiagnosesaqualitativestudy
AT vanderwindtdanielle symptomperceptionsandhelpseekingbehaviourpriortolungandcolorectalcancerdiagnosesaqualitativestudy
AT brindlelucy symptomperceptionsandhelpseekingbehaviourpriortolungandcolorectalcancerdiagnosesaqualitativestudy
AT chewgrahamcarolyn symptomperceptionsandhelpseekingbehaviourpriortolungandcolorectalcancerdiagnosesaqualitativestudy
AT littlepaul symptomperceptionsandhelpseekingbehaviourpriortolungandcolorectalcancerdiagnosesaqualitativestudy