Cancer survivors information seeking behaviors: A comparison of survivors who do and do not seek information about cancer

Objective: To examine the cancer information seeking behaviors and preferences of cancer survivors. Methods: This cross-sectional study used the National Cancer Institute's 2003 Health Information National Trends Survey data to evaluate 619 cancer survivors. Results: Two-thirds (67.5%, n = 418) of the survivors sought cancer information (InfoSeek) and 32.5% (n = 201) did not (NoInfoSeek). Significant predictors of cancer information seeking included age (less than 65), gender (female), income (> US$ 25,000/year), and having a regular health care provider (HCP). Conclusion: Not all survivors actively look for cancer information. Although most survivors prefer receiving cancer information from their HCP, many turn to a variety of other sources, primarily the Internet. Practice implications: HCPs should periodically assess information seeking behaviors and preferences of cancer survivors and actively refer patients to the Internet as an extension of and enhancement to their patient interactions. Credible and useful websites could be identified and recommended by the HCP as a means to address some of the barriers identified by survivors. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.