Perceptions of cancer as a death sentence: Prevalence and consequences

Richard P. Moser, Jamie Arndt, Paul K. Han, Erika A. Waters, Marni Amsellem, Bradford W. Hesse

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

83 Scopus citations

Abstract

Research suggests that perceiving cancer as a death sentence is a critical determinant of health care-seeking behaviors. However, there is limited information regarding the prevalence of this perception in the US population. Cross-sectional analysis of data (n = 7674 adults) from the 2007-2008 administration of the nationally representative Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 3) was performed. A majority (61.6%) of respondents perceived cancer as death sentence, and more than one-third (36%) of respondents reported that they avoid seeing their physicians. In the adult US population, perceiving cancer as a death sentence is common and is associated with education level and avoidance of physicians.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1518-1524
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Health Psychology
Volume19
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 3 2014

Keywords

  • cancer
  • health behavior
  • health psychology
  • perception
  • public health psychology

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