Behavioral Science Data and Approaches Relevant to the Development of Education Programs in Cancer

Abstract

This paper will attempt to provide a small, highly selected sample of notions, concepts, approaches and findings of behavioral scientists which have potential relevance for certain problems of cancer. Actual relevance of these notions can be determined only through empirical assessment.Among the myriad of problems in the life history of the cancer patient, stress here will be placed largely on program efforts for screening for pre-symptomatic cancer detection. Most of the data used will stem from activities directed toward increasing utilization of cervical cytology and breast cancer examination. In addition, however, three additional areas will be touched on which have not yet been sufficiently developed by health educators: self-care behavior, particularly cessation attempts for cigarette smoking; preparation of patients for cancer surgery; and rehabilitation of patients after cancer surgery . UTILIZATION BEHAVIORMaterial on utilization will be provided in the following order: (1) the current response of people to screening efforts for cancers of various sites; (2) particularistic attitudes and beliefs of the population relative to screeing for breast and cervical cancer; (3) selected approaches from the behavioral sciences which have had or might have useful effects in increasing the frequency of screening. C u r r e n t Status. According to a recent Gallup Survey( 19) commissioned by the American Cancer Society, responses to questions collected by personal interview from a nationwide random sample of 1,575 adultc in January 1970 indicate the following:1. About 62 percent of respondents claim to have had physical checkups without symptoms; about half of the population state these exams were obtained in a three-year period prior to interview. 2. About 47 percent of women claim to have ever had breast examinations; one third state these examinations occurred in the year prior to interview. This is a higher proportion than ever before. 3. About 53 percent of women claim to have had cervical cytological tests; better than one third of the population state they obtained this test in the year prior to interview. This too, is a higher proportion than have indicated having had exams than in other surveys. 4. Skin and proctoscopic examinations are claimed to have been 18

Health beliefs and smoking patterns in heart patients and their wives: a longitudinal study.

“…Prevention efforts in such areas as caries reduction, hypertension, diet control in heart disease and in anti-smoking campaigns bear ample witness to this. [1][2][3][4] Recently, however, some degree of success in altering smoking behavior has been noted in a number of studies of post-cardiac patients. [5][6][7][8] In this paper we report on a study population of male cardiac patients whose level of smoking as a group was reduced and remained at a lower level eight or nine years after a primary myocardial infarction.…”

Επιδημιολογική Διερεύνηση Γνώσεων, Στάσεων Και Συμπεριφοράς Του Γυναικείου Πληθυσμού Σχετικά Με Τον Ιό Των Ανθρωπίνων Θηλωμάτων (HPV)

“…Το άτομο αποφασίζει ποιοι είναι οι στόχοι του και με ποιες ενέργειες θα τους πετύχει, μαθαίνει παρατηρώντας τη συμπεριφορά των άλλων και έχει μια διαμορφωμένη άποψη σχετικά με τις ικανότητές του (Δάβου, 2011). (Kegeles, 1973).…”