Abstract
This paper aimed to determine the relationship between cancer information scanning and seeking experience of adolescents and cancer preventive behavior, perceived cancer risk, and levels of cancer- related knowledge. The study sample comprised 1,000 second-year students from 6 high schools: the general and vocational school systems were each represented by 1 boys', 1 girls', and 1 coeducational high school. In July 2011, trained researchers visited each classroom, explained the purpose of the study, distributed questionnaires to the students who agreed to participate, instructed them to complete the survey by self-reporting, and collected the completed questionnaires. The students who attended general high schools (as compared with vocational high schools), earned higher grades, consumed more vegetables, had a higher perceived cancer risk, and answered the cancer-related questions more correctly and had more cancer information scanning and seeking experience. These results reinforce the importance of cancer prevention health education. Furthermore, the results may help in preparing a strategy that enables people to acquire accurate cancer-related information easily and quickly.
Highlights
Modern-day media is overflowing with health-related information: the number of health-related websites is immense, and provision of health-related information is promoted actively through the latest technologies, such as blogs, social networking services, and mobile apps
This study was performed in order to describe the cancer information scanning and seeking experience of Korean high school students and understand which cognitive and behavioral factors are associated with such experience
The results indicated that the students who attended general high schools, earned higher grades, ate more vegetables, had a higher perceived cancer risk, and answered the cancer knowledge questions more correctly had more cancer information scanning and seeking experience
Summary
Modern-day media is overflowing with health-related information: the number of health-related websites is immense, and provision of health-related information is promoted actively through the latest technologies, such as blogs, social networking services, and mobile apps. At this point in time, it is important to understand how and where people obtain health-related information in general, what information they require, and how well their needs are fulfilled. As a variety of lifestyle information related to the prevention and control of cancer is available, it is urgent to construct an environment in which the availability of necessary information is facilitated and acquisition of correct cancer information is enabled; this would help people to determine the significance of information and make good health-related decisions. It is necessary to help people to get cancer information and to interpret it correctly
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