Health-Related Information-Seeking Behaviors and Preferences Among Mexican Patients with Cancer

Enrique Soto-Perez-de-Celis, Viridiana Perez-Montessoro, Patricia Rojo-Castillo, Yanin Chavarri-Guerra

Understanding the preferred sources of health-related information among patients with cancer is essential for designing successful cancer education and prevention strategies. However, little is known about health-related information-seeking practices among patients living in low- and middle-income countries. We studied the preferred sources of health-related information among Mexican patients with cancer and explored which factors influence these choices. The health-related information-seeking practices among patients with cancer treated at a public hospital in Mexico City were evaluated using questions from the Spanish Version of the Health Information National Trends Survey. The characteristics of patients who sought health-related information, and of those who chose the internet as their preferred source of information, were analyzed. Fisher's exact test and logistic regression were used for statistical analyses. One hundred forty-eight patients answered the survey (median age 60 years, 70% female), of which 88 (59%) had sought for health-related information. On multivariate analysis, the only characteristic associated with lower odds of seeking health-related information was increasing age (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.90-0.97). Sixty-one respondents (69%) listed the internet as their preferred source of health-related information. On multivariate analysis, only being of the female gender (OR 4.9, 95% CI 1.3-18.3) was related with higher odds of preferring other sources of information over the internet. Among Mexican patients with cancer, the Internet is the most widely used information source. Older age was the characteristic most strongly associated with not seeking health-related information, while being female was strongly associated with preferring other sources of information over the Internet.