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Help‐seeking behaviour for cancer symptoms: perceptions of patients and general practitioners
Author(s) -
De Nooijer Jascha,
Lechner Lilian,
De Vries Hein
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
psycho‐oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.41
H-Index - 137
eISSN - 1099-1611
pISSN - 1057-9249
DOI - 10.1002/pon.535
Subject(s) - interpretation (philosophy) , perception , qualitative research , psychology , social psychology , clinical psychology , medicine , applied psychology , family medicine , computer science , social science , neuroscience , sociology , programming language
The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of the relationship between knowledge and interpretation of symptoms, fear and trust on the one hand, and the decision to consult a general practitioner (GP) for cancer symptoms on the other. Qualitative interviews were used to evaluate the various factors. Twenty‐three patients and ten GPs were interviewed. A number of factors were found to play different roles for different patients groups, i.e. patients that consult their doctor prematurely, at the right time, or those that delay. A lot of the findings can be tested using various concepts of socio‐psychological theory. Further research should provide an improved understanding of the way these models can be applied to help‐seeking behaviour. In terms of implications for health education, we conclude that each patient group has different needs and requires different information. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.