title: The Influence of Health Literacy on Information Needs Among Women Newly Diagnosed With Breast Cancer, With Special Reference to Employment Status.
abstract: Breast cancer is the most frequent type of malignancy among women throughout Germany. The present analysis aimed to identify information needs and aspects of health literacy in women of working age newly diagnosed with breast cancer. PIAT is a prospective multicenter cohort study in which patients were asked about their information needs at 3 assessment points: postoperatively, after 10 weeks, and after 40 weeks. The present analysis includes data from 1,344 female patients after the first assessment point. In addition to descriptive analyses, logistic regression analyses were calculated. Results of the study show that, in addition to sociodemographic characteristics, the level of health literacy and the employment status of the women who responded to the inquiry influence specific unmet information needs. Most frequently mentioned unmet information needs relate to supplementary naturopathy, nutrition, health-promoting measures, and working during breast cancer. Patients with breast cancer are often provided with large amounts of information during their hospital stay indicating this information is not targeted to patient needs and may be overwhelming. The results show that information on everyday life needs such as supplementary naturopathy were important for the sample newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Employed women in particular have questions regarding working during cancer or tax relief.
authors.affiliation: a Institute for Medical Sociology, Health Services Research and Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Human Science and Faculty of Medicine , University of Cologne , Cologne , Germany.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: b German Cancer Society , Berlin , Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kowalski
authors.affiliation: a Institute for Medical Sociology, Health Services Research and Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Human Science and Faculty of Medicine , University of Cologne , Cologne , Germany.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pfaff
authors.affiliation: b German Cancer Society , Berlin , Germany.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wesselmann
authors.affiliation: c Institute for Psychology , University of Education , Freiburg , Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wirtz
authors.affiliation: a Institute for Medical Sociology, Health Services Research and Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Human Science and Faculty of Medicine , University of Cologne , Cologne , Germany.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ernstmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D054626:Consumer Health Information; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D057220:Health Literacy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult