Cancer patients' informational needs on health promotion and related factors: a multi-institutional, cross-sectional study in Korea

As the survival rates of cancer patients increase, health promotion for cancer survivors becomes a more important issue. This study examines whether the informational needs on health promotion by cancer patients is being met and evaluates other factors associated with those informational needs. Questionnaires were collected from a total of 2,661 cancer patients at ten cancer centers in Korea from July to August 2008. The questionnaire was designed to elicit informational needs related to healthy behaviors, nutrition, and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Multiple logistic regression models were developed to identify factors affecting the informational needs of cancer survivors regarding health promotion. In our study sample, we found that 64.83%, 66.38%, and 47.40% of patients have unmet informational needs regarding healthy behaviors, nutrition, and CAM, respectively. The desire for information about health promotion appears to be related to socio-demographic factors, clinical factors, behavioral factors, and quality of life. Younger patients with higher levels of education, shorter time since diagnosis, greater stress levels, previous experience using CAM, and problems identified on EQ5D expressed greater needs for health-related information. Cancer recurrence and smoking status were also associated with greater informational needs about nutrition and CAM. A significant proportion of cancer patients have unmet informational needs on health promotion. We identified several factors that influence the desire for more health-related information. A tailored approach to providing informational resources to patient groups with unmet informational needs is recommended to enhance the quality of life of cancer patients.