Sara Nelissen

Fear of cancer is associated with cancer information seeking, scanning and avoiding: a cross-sectional study among cancer diagnosed and non-diagnosed individuals.

BACKGROUND Nowadays, there is an abundance of health and cancer information in the mass media. Because of this high amount of information, it is possible for individuals to find or incidentally encounter cancer information, but it is also possible to be overloaded by this information and, consequently, to avoid it. Previous studies have indicated that fear of cancer could be both positively and negatively related to behaviours such as screening, help-seeking and information avoidance. OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were (1) to assess the relationship between fear of cancer and cancer information acquisition and avoiding behaviour, (2) to examine whether this relationship was curvilinear, and (3) to determine whether this relationship was moderated by being diagnosed with cancer or not. METHOD Six hundred and twenty-one cancer diagnosed and 1387 non-diagnosed individuals were recruited through a convenience sample in Flanders (Belgium) and filled in a standardised survey questionnaire. RESULTS The results showed a positive linear association between fear of cancer and information seeking, scanning and avoiding. Being diagnosed with cancer or not did not moderate this relationship. CONCLUSION Fear of cancer is positively associated with cancer information acquisition and avoiding behaviour. This suggests that fear of cancer predicts different behaviours in different individuals.

The child-effect in the new media environment: Challenges and opportunities for communication research

Abstract Most studies on the uses and effects of media and communication by parents and children have focused on how parents influence their children. Socialization theory generally describes how children internalize the rules and norms from their parents, teachers, siblings, media, and others. Socialization is, however, a bidirectional process in which children socialize their parents as well. This “child-effect” is a perspective that has been largely ignored in the social science literature in general, and in media research, in particular. Given recent changes in the media landscape (such as the introduction of smartphones and tablets), we argue that this needs to be investigated now more than ever. In this paper, we aim (1) to give a brief theoretical overview of the “child-effect hypothesis” and (2) to discuss its challenges and opportunities for future research of the relationship between parents and children in media and communication research.

Predictors of Cancer Fear: The Association Between Mass Media and Fear of Cancer Among Cancer Diagnosed and Nondiagnosed Individuals

Few studies have explored the impact of mass media on fear of cancer levels. This study investigates whether television and Internet use are associated with fear of cancer, and whether this association is different for cancer diagnosed and nondiagnosed individuals. A quantitative, standardized survey was used and administered to 2008 respondents in Flanders (Belgium), of which 621 individuals were diagnosed with cancer. For statistical analyses, hierarchical regression analyses, independent samples T-tests and post hoc mediation analyses were conducted. The results indicated that cancer diagnosed individuals differed from nondiagnosed individuals in terms of perceived cancer susceptibility, perceived cancer severity, fear of cancer, and media use. Furthermore, television exposure was directly and positively related to fear of cancer, whereas Internet use was not. The relationship between television and Internet use and fear of cancer was not different for cancer diagnosed and nondiagnosed individuals. Additional post hoc mediation analyses, however, seemed to suggest that watching more television and surfing more on the Internet could both lead to having a more negative perceived health and this was in turn associated with higher fear of cancer. To help reduce the burden of fear of cancer, cancer educators and individuals working with cancer patients need to be aware of the possible negative effects media use might have on health perception and on the levels of fear of cancer.

When digital natives instruct digital immigrants: Active guidance of parental media use by children and conflict in the family

ABSTRACT Based on the premise that children are active agents who influence their parents’ media use, this study investigated child–parent digital media guidance. Children often introduce new media into the family and influence parents’ media adoption and use. This study also investigated whether this child–parent digital media guidance is associated with media conflicts in the family. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 187 parent–child dyads in Flanders, Belgium. Paired samples t-tests and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. The results showed that both children and parents reported that children guide their parents how to use digital media, especially for newer media forms such as smartphones, tablets, and apps. Families where there was more child–parent digital media guidance reported more conflicts about media. These relationships were comparable in the parent and child reports.

Stem cell research: the role of information seeking and scanning

BACKGROUND The mass media have held an ongoing debate about stem cell research. However, few studies have investigated how individuals obtain information on stem cell research and whether this affects their knowledge and perspectives on stem cell research. OBJECTIVE This study aims to investigate whether (i) cancer-diagnosed and non-diagnosed individuals differ in terms of their acquisition of stem cell research information, (ii) whether this information acquisition is associated with stem cell research knowledge and perspectives and (iii) whether having had a cancer diagnosis moderates these associations. METHOD A standardised, cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of 621 cancer-diagnosed and 1387 non-diagnosed individuals in Flanders (Belgium). RESULTS The results indicate that stem cell research information acquisition explains a significant part of the variance of stem cell research knowledge (8.9%) and of the societal benefits of stem cell research (6.7%) and of embryonic stem cell research evaluation (3.9%) and morality (2%). These associations did not differ between cancer-diagnosed and non-diagnosed individuals but cancer-diagnosed individuals did seek more stem cell research information. CONCLUSION Acquiring stem cell research information, both intentionally and unintentionally, is positively related to stem cell research knowledge and perspectives. Future research should further identify ways to promote health information acquisition behaviour because it is associated with better knowledge and more positive opinion formation.

Media use, cancer knowledge and lifestyle choices: a cross-sectional analysis

BACKGROUND Both media use and cancer knowledge have been identified as important predictors of a healthy lifestyle. However, little is known about the interplay between these two variables, and about differences between cancer diagnosed and non-diagnosed consumers of media and knowledge. This study investigated the relationship between media use (television and internet exposure) and lifestyle choices of cancer diagnosed and non-diagnosed individuals, and looked at the influence of cancer knowledge on this relationship. METHODS A cross-sectional, quantitative survey (the Leuven Cancer Information Survey) was administered to 621 cancer diagnosed and 1387 non-diagnosed individuals, aged 16-88 years old in Flanders (Belgium). Bivariate analyses, hierarchical linear regression analyses and advanced moderation and mediation analyses were conducted. RESULTS Internet exposure was not a predictor of lifestyle choices. Television exposure, however, was a negative predictor of healthy lifestyle choices. Moreover, television exposure was a direct negative predictor of cancer knowledge, which in turn positively predicted lifestyle choices. However, no differences were found in the investigated relationships between the two subsamples. CONCLUSION These results indicate that higher levels of television exposure coincide with less cancer knowledge and with less healthy lifestyle choices. It offers a pathway for intervention by suggesting that improving cancer knowledge through television might positively affect lifestyle choices.

The swine flu emergency department: the relationship between media attention for the swine flu and registrations in an emergency medicine unit.

INTRODUCTION When the world is faced with a new potential pandemic outbreak, the media report heavily about it. Media are an important disseminator of health threat information. This study examined potential media effects during the 2009 outbreak of A/H1N1 influenza. HYPOTHESIS To examine the relationship between media reports of the swine flu and self-registrations in an emergency department (ED) of a tertiary hospital in Flanders, Belgium. METHODS All articles concerning swine flu published in seven Flemish newspapers were selected during the biggest flu peak in Belgium. This number was compared with the number of patients who presented themselves with a self-diagnosis of swine flu symptoms during the same time frame. The Pearsons correlation coefficient was selected to determine the relationship. The cross-correlation function determined the direction of this relationship. RESULTS A strong correlation was found between the number of potential patients (n = 308) and the number of articles in the Flemish press (n = 1657). The number of patients was the leading indicator; increases in the volume of written press followed increases in the number of patients. CONCLUSION Media reporting is extensive when a new infectious disease breaks out and intensifies when it is feared that pandemic levels are reached. This was also the case with the swine flu outbreak in Flanders. These findings suggest that a rise in the number of media reports follows a rise in the number of cases, rather than the reverse.

Expanding the Unidirectional View on Parental Television Mediation: Children’s Guidance of Their Parent’s Television Use

Compared to parental mediation research, much less is known about how children influence and guide their parents’ media use. This study examined whether children also mediate the television use of their parents. Measures of an existing television mediation scale were reversed to the perspective of the child guiding the parent’s television use. A sample of 187 parent-child dyads completed a cross-sectional survey in Flanders (Belgium). Factor analyses showed that the original subscales were reproduced with high internal validity. Both parents and children had congruent views about children’s television mediation; television mediation and childrens restrictive mediation was positively associated with conflict in the family.