Abstract
BackgroundMedical information is often conflicting and consequently perceived as ambiguous. There are individual differences both in how much people perceive ambiguity and in their tolerance for such ambiguity. Little is known about how these constructs are related to each other and with other beliefs.ObjectiveTo examine the association between (a) perceived medical ambiguity, (b) tolerance for medical ambiguity and (c) their associations with various medical and cancer‐specific judgement and decision‐making correlates.Method and ParticipantsWe conducted secondary data analyses using the cross‐sectional, nationally representative Health Information National Trends Survey 4, Cycle 4 (n = 3,433, 51.0% female, Mage = 46.5). Analyses statistically controlled for age, sex, race, education and health‐care coverage. Main variables studiedPerceived medical ambiguity, tolerance for medical ambiguity, cancer perceptions, health‐care experiences and preferences, and information‐seeking styles and beliefs. ResultsPerceived medical ambiguity and tolerance for medical ambiguity were statistically independent. Higher perceived ambiguity was associated with lower perceived cancer preventability, lower reliance on doctors, lower perceived health and information‐seeking self‐efficacy, lower perceived quality of the cancer information‐seeking process, and greater cancer information avoidance. Lower tolerance for ambiguity was associated with lower cancer worry, lower trust in doctors, lower likelihood of seeking health information, and lower engagement in medical research.Discussion and ConclusionsPerceived medical ambiguity and tolerance for medical ambiguity seem to be distinct constructs. Findings have implications for how people make medical decisions when they perceive and prefer to avoid conflicting medical information.
Highlights
Ambiguity can arise from multiple sources, and in this study, we examined perceptions of and tolerance for ambiguity from conflicting medical information
Items indicative of pessimistic appraisal and avoidance across three categories—cancer perceptions; health-care experiences and preferences; and information-seeking styles and beliefs—differed in how they were associated with perceptions of and tolerance for medical ambiguity, and no individual construct was associated with both constructs
The present study distinguished between perceived medical ambiguity—assessed about cancer prevention recommendations—and
Summary
As scientific knowledge advances and medical technology is developed and improved, people are often faced with multiple options for medical procedures and treatments. Individuals enrolled in a genome sequencing trial who believed their sequencing results would be ambiguous thought the results would be less likely to help reduce their disease risk and were less interested in learning genomic information.[9]. This general pattern of avoidance and pessimistic appraisals in response to perceived ambiguity has been labelled ‘ambiguity aversion’. Main variables studied: Perceived medical ambiguity, tolerance for medical ambiguity, cancer perceptions, health-care experiences and preferences, and informationseeking styles and beliefs. Lower tolerance for ambiguity was associated with lower cancer worry, lower trust in doctors, lower likelihood of seeking health information, and lower engagement in medical research. Findings have implications for how people make medical decisions when they perceive and prefer to avoid conflicting medical information
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