title: Internal Motivation, Perceived Health Competency, and Health Literacy in Primary and Secondary Cancer Prevention
abstract: Objective: The aim of this study was to identify associations of internal motivation, perceived health competency,
  and health literacy with primary and secondary cancer prevention. Methods: A telephone survey was conducted with
  a sample of 2,700, 30-69 year olds, proportionally extracted from Gangwon Province, South Korea. The dependent
  variables were actions in primary and secondary prevention and the explanatory variables were 13 questions in three
  areas: internal motivation (4 items), perceived health competency (4 items), and health literacy (5 items). Result:
  Multiple linear regression analysis showed that internal motivation, perceived health competency, and health literacy
  positively impacted primary prevention after controlling for gender and age. As internal motivation, perceived health
  competency, and perceived literacy increased by 1 point, primary prevention scores increased by 0.11, 0.11, and 0.07
  points, respectively. In addition, logistic regression results for secondary prevention showed that health literacy had a
  positive impact on secondary behavior. As health literacy increased by 1 point, the odds ratio of the practice of secondary
  prevention was 1.4 times higher. Conclusion: This study suggests that primary and secondary prevention of cancer
  are significantly related to intrinsic motivation factors, perceived health competency, and actual health literacy. Health
  literacy concepts that cover the capacity of health management in comprehensive areas need to be applied to education
  and promotion for improvement of primary and secondary prevention of cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of health management and Policy, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University,Gangwon, Korea.Email:joheuisug@gmail.com
authors.forename: Su Mi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Heui Sug
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: Hyung Won
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Oh
keywords: Internal motivation; perceived health competency; health literacy; cancer prevention