RT Journal Article
T1 Socio-Economic Inequalities in Beliefs About Cancer and its Causes: Evidence From two Population Surveys.
A1 Galicia Pacheco, Sergio Ivan
A1 Catena, Andres
A1 Sanchez-Perez, Maria-Jose
A1 Rueda, Maria Del Mar
A1 Aljarilla Sánchez, Lucas
A1 Costas, Laura
A1 Garrido, Dunia
A1 Garcia-Retamero, Rocio
A1 Espina, Carolina
A1 Rodriguez-Barranco, Miguel
A1 Petrova, Dafina
K1 Beliefs
K1 cancer
K1 Cancer awareness
K1 Cancer prevention
K1 Mythical causes of cancer
K1 Oncology
K1 Socio‐economic inequalities
AB ObjectivePeople's beliefs about cancer can affect the actions they take to prevent and detect the disease. We investigated socio-economic inequalities in beliefs about cancer and its causes in the general population.MethodsWe analyzed data from the representative probabilistic Spanish Oncobarometer survey (N = 4769, 2020) and the non-probabilistic weight-corrected Spanish Cancer Awareness Survey (N = 1029, 2022). Beliefs about cancer, recognition of cancer symptoms, and recognition of risk factors were measured with the Awareness and Beliefs about Cancer questionnaire. Endorsement of mythical causes was measured with the CAM-Mythical Causes questionnaire. The effects of socio-economic status (SES) were investigated in multiple regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, and personal and family cancer history.ResultsIndividuals with lower SES were more likely to endorse pessimistic beliefs (e.g., “cancer is a death sentence”), and less likely to endorse optimistic beliefs about cancer (e.g., “people with cancer continue with normal activities”). Individuals with lower SES also recognized fewer cancer symptoms and risk factors and endorsed more mythical causes of cancer. The gap in knowledge regarding cancer causes was wider among people with low SES, who were more likely to endorse several mythical causes than some established risk factors included in cancer prevention recommendations.ConclusionsSocio-economic inequalities in beliefs about cancer are robust and multidimensional and indicate worse preparedness to act against the disease among lower socio-economic groups. Differences in beliefs about disease outcomes and causes are likely one of the multiple contributors to cancer disparities and should be targeted and monitored in prevention efforts.
PB Wiley
YR 2024
FD 2024-12-03
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10668/24342
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10668/24342
LA en
NO Galicia Pacheco SI, Catena A, Sánchez MJ, Rueda MDM, Aljarilla Sánchez L, Costas L, et al. Socio-Economic Inequalities in Beliefs About Cancer and its Causes: Evidence From two Population Surveys. Psychooncology. 2024 Dec;33(12):e70035.
NO The Onco‐barometer survey was funded by the Cancer Observatory of the Spanish Association against Cancer (Asociación Española contra el Cáncer, www.aecc.es). This research was partially supported by grants from the Spanish Association against Cancer (High‐Resolution Study of Social Inequalities in Cancer (HiReSIC), PROYE20023SÁNC), the Cancer Epidemiological Surveillance Subprogram of the CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health and the Health Institute Carlos III (VICA), CIBERESP CB06/02/0073, 2021SGR01354 and PI18/01593 EU/FEDER, and the Ministry of Science and Innovation (PDC2022‐133293‐100, CEX2020‐001105‐M/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 Spain), Strategic Action in Health (DTS23/00032, Spain). This research was also supported by the Mexican Government through the CONAHCYT scholarship program “Becas de Posgrado para Maestrías y Doctorados en Ciencias y Humanidades en el extranjero 2024”, awarded to SIGP. DP is supported by a Miguel Servet Fellowship (CP23/00024) from the Health Institute Carlos III. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada /CBUA. The funders had no role in study design, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
DS RISalud
RD Apr 10, 2025