Background:
Research demonstrates that cancer patients who are well-informed about their condition experience numerous benefits including better coping strategies, greater participation in medical decisions, and decreased anxiety. Over the past decade, information has become increasingly available via online resources; however, few studies have explored the associations between digital information seeking and sociodemographic factors, clinical cancer characteristics, and perceived health.
Methods:
We used data from the National Cancer Institute Health Information National Trends Survey – Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (HINTS-SEER), which contains survey data from a sample of 1,234 US cancer survivors whose diagnoses had been reported to one of three SEER program registries in Iowa, New Mexico, and the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. The surveys were administered in 2021, and we assessed information-seeking behavior via questions including “Have you looked for information about cancer from any source?” and “In the past 12 months, have you used a computer, smartphone, or other electronic means to look for health or medical information for yourself?" Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine associations between information-seeking behaviors and sociodemographic factors, cancer site, stage at diagnosis, time since cancer diagnosis and the end of treatment, health effects of cancer treatment, and perceived general health.
Results:
Looking for cancer-specific information was significantly more common among females (vs. males, OR: 1.51 95% CI: 1.08-2.12), older adults (75+ vs. 18-64, OR: 2.27, 95% CI: 1.47-3.50) and single/never married individuals (vs. married/living as married, OR: 3.97, 95% CI: 1.59-9.91). Factors associated with digital health information seeking included being female (vs. male, OR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.00-1.86) and higher income ($100,000+ vs. <$50,000, OR: 1.99, 95% CI: 1.33-2.97). Lower odds were found among older adults (75+ vs. 18-64, OR: 0.24, 95% CI: 0.15-0.37) and widowed individuals (vs. married/living as married, OR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.35-0.85). Neither cancer site nor stage at diagnosis were significantly associated with looking for cancer-specific information or digital health information seeking.
Conclusion:
Various factors are strongly associated with digital information seeking and can inform targeted interventions to improve health information access and utilization among cancer survivors.