• Joni S Williams, Jacob Fong-Gurzinsky, Sneha Nagavally, Rebekah J Walker, Onur Asan, Mukoso N Ozieh, and Leonard E Egede.
• Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin, 9200 W. Wisconsin Ave, Clinical Cancer Center Building, 5th Floor, Ste. C5400, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States; Center for Advancing Population Science, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States.
• J Natl Med Assoc. 2021 Aug 1; 113 (4): 457-464.

BackgroundDisparities associated with trust in health information exist warranting a need for research assessing this relationship among adults. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess trust of cancer information among U.S. adults.MethodsA weighted sample of 237,670,167 adults from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) from 2011-2014 was used for the analyses. Dependent variables were dichotomized answers to whether individuals trusted information from family/friends, the internet, or a doctor. Independent variables included age, sex, region, race/ethnicity, and cancer diagnosis to investigate associations between demographic factors and differences in trust. Logistic regression was run using R survey package.ResultsThere were statistically significant differences in trust based on race/ethnicity, age, and cancer diagnosis. Minorities were less likely to trust information from a doctor, with Hispanics more likely to trust information from the internet (OR=1.8 (95% CI 1.36,2.43)), and Non-Hispanic Blacks trusting information from family and friends (OR=1.5 (95% CI 1.06, 2.13)). Adults ≥45 years of age were less likely to trust the doctor 'a lot' (45-64 years: OR=0.6 (95% CI 0.50, 0.83); 65+ years (OR=0.7 (95% CI 0.54, 0.92)), but more likely to not trust information from family and friends or the internet. Patients with cancer were more likely to trust information from a doctor 'a lot' (78%; p=0.01).DiscussionSignificant differences in preferences regarding trust in cancer information occurred based on sociodemographic characteristics.ConclusionThese finding suggest targeting specific population subgroups for information from sources they trust could be helpful in reducing disparities in trust.Published by Elsevier Inc.

14 keywords...

hide…