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Measuring knowledge of cancer.

S H Berman¹, A Wandersman

¹University of South Carolina, Columbia 29208.

Social Science & Medicine (1982)

|January 1, 1991

Summary

Most people can only recall a few cancer warning signs. A new questionnaire, the Knowledge of Cancer Warning Signs Inventory (KCWSI), offers a more comprehensive assessment of cancer symptom recognition and perception.

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Area of Science:

Oncology
Health Psychology
Public Health

Background:

Public awareness of the seven warning signs of cancer is often limited, with individuals recalling only a few.
Traditional recall methods may not fully capture the nuances of cancer symptom perception.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce and validate the Knowledge of Cancer Warning Signs Inventory (KCWSI) as a novel tool for assessing cancer warning sign knowledge.
To explore the relationship between environmental health concerns and cancer warning sign awareness.

Main Methods:

Development of the 25-item KCWSI, yielding scores for basic recognition (BRCWS), non-warning sign perception (NSPWS), and accurate knowledge (AKC).
Administered KCWSI to a community with a perceived toxic waste hazard.
Analyzed predictors of BRCWS, NSPWS, and AKC, including fear of cancer, perceived susceptibility, and psychological distress.

Main Results:

Accurate Knowledge of Cancer (AKC) and fear of cancer predicted basic recognition of cancer warning signs.
Fear of cancer, perceived susceptibility, and psychological distress predicted the misperception of common distress symptoms as cancer warning signs (NSPWS).
AKC was associated with lower fear of cancer and psychological distress compared to other knowledge measures.

Conclusions:

The KCWSI provides a more detailed understanding of how individuals perceive cancer symptoms compared to traditional methods.
Accurate knowledge of cancer warning signs is linked to lower fear and distress.
This study highlights the importance of nuanced measurement in understanding health information perception and its relation to health behaviors.

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