Help seeking for cancer 'alarm' symptoms: A qualitative interview study of primary care patients in the UK

Whitaker, Katriina L.; Macleod, Una; Winstanley, Kelly; Scott, Suzanne E.; Wardle, Jane

Abstract

©British Journal of General Practice Background: Delay in help seeking for cancer 'alarm' symptoms has been identified as a contributor to delayed diagnosis. Aim: To understand people's help-seeking decision making for cancer alarm symptoms, without imposing a cancer context. Design and setting: Community-based, qualitative interview study in the UK, using purposive sampling by sex, socioeconomic status, and prior help seeking, with framework analysis of transcripts. Method: Interviewees (n = 48) were recruited from a community-based sample (n = 1724) of adults aged ≥50 years who completed a health survey that included a list of symptoms. Cancer was not mentioned. Participants reporting any of 10 cancer alarm symptoms (n = 915) and who had consented to contact (n = 482) formed the potential pool from which people were invited to an interview focusing on their symptom experiences. Results: Reasons for help seeking included symptom persistence, social influence, awareness/ fear of a link with cancer, and 'just instinct'. Perceiving the symptom as trivial or 'normal' was a deterrent, as was stoicism, adopting self-management strategies, and fear of investigations. Negative attitudes to help seeking were common. Participants did not want to be seen as making a fuss, did not want to waste the doctor's time, and were sometimes not confident that the GP could help. Conclusion: Decision making about cancer alarm symptoms was complex. Recognition of cancer risk almost always motivated help seeking (more so than the fear of cancer being a deterrent), assisted by recent public-awareness campaigns. As well as symptom persistence motivating help seeking, it could also have the reverse effect. Negative attitudes to help seeking were significant deterrents.

Citation

Whitaker, K. L., Macleod, U., Winstanley, K., Scott, S. E., & Wardle, J. (2015). Help seeking for cancer 'alarm' symptoms: A qualitative interview study of primary care patients in the UK. The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 65(631), e96-e105. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp15X683533

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 20, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Jan 26, 2015
• Publication Date: 2015-02
• Deposit Date: Apr 19, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: May 30, 2022
• Journal: British Journal of General Practice
• Print ISSN: 0960-1643
• Publisher: Royal College of General Practitioners
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 65
• Issue: 631
• Pages: e96-e105
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp15X683533
• Keywords: ‘Alarm’ symptoms; Awareness; Cancer; Fear; General practice; Help-seeking
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3607661