Abstract
We examined associations between numeracy and sociocognitive factors associated with colorectal cancer screening uptake (n = 964). Nearly half (45.7%) of the respondents incorrectly answered a numeracy question (low numeracy). Low numeracy respondents were less knowledgeable about colorectal cancer (p <.001), less positive towards screening (emotional, p <.001 and practical, p =.001) and less likely to intend to participate in screening (p =.001). They also reported greater defensive processing of cancer information (p =.001). Sociocognitive factors fully mediated the relationship between numeracy and screening intention. Addressing numeracy issues may reduce inequalities in CRC screening participation, but communication strategies could be limited by the tendency process cancer information defensively.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1665-1675 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of Health Psychology |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 1 2016 |
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This article summarises independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research Programme (Grant Reference Number (RP-PG-0609-10106). The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. For the period of this research, Dr Smith was supported by a PhD studentship from the Medical Research Council (UK) and is currently supported by a Cancer Research UK Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Keywords
- attitudes
- colorectal cancer
- health communication
- health literacy
- numeracy
- screening
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Applied Psychology