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. 2014 May;41(3):E203-10.
doi: 10.1188/14.ONF.E203-E210.

Lung cancer stigma predicts timing of medical help-seeking behavior

Lisa Carter-Harris  1 , Carla P Hermann  2 , Judy Schreiber  2 , Michael T Weaver  3 , Susan M Rawl  4
Affiliations

Lung cancer stigma predicts timing of medical help-seeking behavior

Lisa Carter-Harris et al. Oncol Nurs Forum. 2014 May.

Abstract

Purpose/objectives: To examine relationships among demographic variables, healthcare system distrust, lung cancer stigma, smoking status, and timing of medical help-seeking behavior in individuals with symptoms suggestive of lung cancer after controlling for ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and social desirability.

Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational study.

Setting: Outpatient oncology clinics in Louisville, KY.

Sample: 94 patients diagnosed in the past three weeks to six years with all stages of lung cancer.

Methods: Self-report, written survey packets were administered in person followed by a semistructured interview to assess symptoms and timing characteristics of practice-identified patients with lung cancer.

Main research variables: Timing of medical help-seeking behavior, healthcare system distrust, lung cancer stigma, and smoking status.

Findings: Lung cancer stigma was independently associated with timing of medical help-seeking behavior in patients with lung cancer. Healthcare system distrust and smoking status were not independently associated with timing of medical help-seeking behavior.

Conclusions: FINDINGS suggest that stigma influences medical help-seeking behavior for lung cancer symptoms, serving as a barrier to prompt medical help-seeking behavior.

Implications for nursing: When designing interventions to promote early medical help-seeking behavior in individuals with symptoms suggestive of lung cancer, methods that consider lung cancer stigma as a barrier that can be addressed through public awareness and patient-targeted interventions should be included.

Keywords: decision making; healthcare system distrust; lung cancer; lung cancer stigma; medical help-seeking behavior.

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