Predictors of high trust and the role of confidence levels in seeking cancer-related information

Abstract

ABSTRACT One of the most commonly searched topics on the internet in the United States is cancer. Our study aims to provide a general overview of the predictors of trust for two health information sources, doctors and the internet, when seeking cancer-related information. The data were obtained from the 2018 HINTS 5 Cycle 2 survey, which was administered from January through May to a total of 3,504 respondents. We carried out next a series of ordinal logistic regression models to identify predictors of high trust in doctors and the internet separately for cancer-seeking information. Demographic predictor variables varied as predictors of high trust for cancer knowledge across both sources. Respondents who reported less confidence in their ability to seek cancer information had significantly higher odds of high trust in both doctors (OR = 8.43, CI: 5.58–12.73) and the internet (OR = 2.93, CI: 1.97–4.35) as compared to those who reported being “completely confident” in their ability to obtain cancer information. Understanding the key predictors of trust in doctors and the internet is crucial to the enhancement of health. The role of confidence as a predictor of trust in seeking cancer information has been shown to consistently influence the levels of trust attributed to each topic.