Beliefs and Information Seeking in Patients With Cancer in Southwest China: Survey Study

BACKGROUND: Although previous studies have reported the cancer information-seeking behaviors among patients in high-income countries, the cancer information-seeking practices of patients living in low- and middle-income areas are less known. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the beliefs and information-seeking patterns of cancer patients in southwest China. METHODS: A questionnaire was designed, and data were collected in two hospitals (N=285) in southwest China. Statistical analyses included bivariate analyses and regressions. RESULTS: Patients’ attitudes towards cancer fatalism were significantly influenced by marital status (P<.001), education (P<.001), and household income (P<.001). Moreover, endorsing fatalistic belief was positively associated with age (r=0.35, P<.001). The regression model showed that younger patients (odds ratio [OR] 0.96, 95% CI 0.93-0.99) and those with higher education (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.09-2.81) were more likely to seek information. Additionally, patients who were less confident in getting information were more likely to find information (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.15-2.52), while fatalism belief was not significant in the regression (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.22-1.95). CONCLUSIONS: This study explored the information-seeking patterns of cancer patients in southwest China. It was found that many Chinese people endorsed cancer fatalism. These pessimistic beliefs about the potential to prevent and to cure cancer correlate with rather than cause cancer-related information seeking. However, self-efficacy about the confidence in finding needed cancer information was a significant predictor of information-seeking.