Related Experiment Videos
Helpseeking for self-discovered breast symptoms. Implications for early detection
N C Facione1, M J Dodd, W Holzemer
1Department of Physiological Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco 94143, USA.
Cancer Practice
|July 1, 1997
Summary
Many women delay seeking medical help for breast cancer symptoms due to personal, social, and economic factors, not just education or income. Healthcare providers must assess these influences to improve early detection rates.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Public Health
- Health Behavior
Background:
- Most breast cancer symptoms are self-discovered.
- A significant proportion of women delay seeking medical evaluation for these symptoms for three months or longer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify personal, social, and environmental factors influencing women's intention to seek immediate medical evaluation versus delaying care for self-discovered breast symptoms.
Main Methods:
- A convenience sample of 352 Black women in the San Francisco Bay Area completed a survey.
- The survey included 10 scales measuring health behavior variables, incorporating new and existing scales augmented by prior qualitative data.
Main Results:
- Younger age, lower income, and being single or partnered were associated with a lower intention to seek evaluation.
- Perceived negative consequences of delay, prior healthcare utilization, perceived access to services, and fear were positively related to helpseeking intention.
- Fatalistic beliefs and perceived constraints to care negatively influenced helpseeking intention; perceived racism was not a significant factor.
Conclusions:
- Helpseeking intention is influenced by a complex interplay of personal, social, and economic factors, extending beyond education and economics.
- Healthcare providers should proactively assess individual patient factors that may influence the delay in seeking evaluation for breast symptoms.
- History-taking should be expanded to explore patients' beliefs about delaying care, vulnerability, constraints to access, and symptom interpretation to improve early detection strategies.