title: Cancer Information Seeking Among Adult New Zealanders: a National Cross-Sectional Study.
abstract: Organisations seeking to establish themselves as leading cancer information sources for the public need to understand patterns and motivators for information seeking. This study describes cancer information seeking among New Zealanders through a national cross-sectional survey conducted in 2014/15 with a population-based sample of adults (18 years and over). Participants were asked if they had sought information about cancer during the past 12 months, the type of information they sought, what prompted them to look for information and ways of getting information they found helpful. Telephone interviews were completed by 1064 participants (588 females, 476 males, 64% response rate). Of these, 33.8% of females and 23.3% of males (total, 29.2%) had searched for information about cancer over the past year. A search was most frequently prompted by a cancer diagnosis of a family member or friend (43.3%), a desire to educate themselves (17.5%), experience of potential symptoms or a positive screening test (9.4%), family history of cancer (8.9%) or the respondent's own cancer diagnosis (7.7%). Across the cancer control spectrum, the information sought was most commonly about treatment and survival (20.2%), symptoms/early detection (17.2%) or risk factors (14.2%), although many were general or non-specific queries (50.0%). The internet was most commonly identified as a helpful source of information (71.7%), followed by health professionals (35.8%), and reading material (e.g. books, pamphlets) (14.7%).This study provides a snapshot of cancer information seeking in New Zealand, providing valuable knowledge to help shape resource delivery to better meet the diverse needs of information seekers and address potential unmet needs, where information seeking is less prevalent.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Society Social and Behavioural Research Unit, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand. rose.richards@otago.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Rosalina
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3716-811X
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.affiliation: Cancer Society Social and Behavioural Research Unit, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Bronwen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McNoe
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Ella
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Iosua
authors.affiliation: Cancer Society Social and Behavioural Research Unit, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reeder
authors.affiliation: Cancer Society Social and Behavioural Research Unit, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Egan
authors.affiliation: Cancer Society Social and Behavioural Research Unit, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.affiliation: Cancer Society Social and Behavioural Research Unit, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: Cancer Society Social and Behavioural Research Unit, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Brett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maclennan
authors.affiliation: Kōhatu Centre for Hauora Māori, Division of Health Sciences, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dawson
authors.affiliation: Cancer Society Social and Behavioural Research Unit, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Quigg
authors.affiliation: Cancer Society Social and Behavioural Research Unit, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Anne-Cathrine
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Petersen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cancer; Cross-sectional; Information; Motivation