title: Relationship of communication and information measures to colorectal cancer screening utilization: results from HINTS.
abstract: Utilization of colorectal cancer screening tests is suboptimal. Knowledge of colorectal cancer screening has been associated with completion of screening. Thus, increasing awareness of colorectal cancer screening may lead to significant improvements in screening rates. We assessed for the association among provider-patient interaction, information-seeking patterns, sources of information, trust in cancer information, and Internet usage on colorectal cancer screening behavior using data obtained by the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). From a cohort of 2,670 respondents greater than 50 years of age, we found that they (1) desired cancer information from personalized reading materials, meeting in person with a health care professional, and published materials; and (2) had great trust of information from their provider. Having trust in cancer information from the doctor or other health care professional was most predictive (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.49-2.94) of being up to date. Other predictive factors include having a desire for cancer information from personalized reading materials (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.24-1.95) and using the Internet from home (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.04-1.67). We conclude that personalized communications from a health care provider are desired and trusted. Another promising information delivery approach is the Internet. Dedicated efforts using these approaches for information exchange may be most beneficial toward increasing utilization of colorectal cancer screening.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Doctor-Patient Communication, Center for Research on Health Care, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. lingbs@upmc.edu
authors.forename: Bruce S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Qianyu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Dang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003142:Communication; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D014481:United States