Prevalence and Age-Related Patterns in Health Information–Seeking Behaviors and Technology Use Among Skin Cancer Survivors: Survey Study (Preprint)

Abstract

Information is an unmet need among cancer survivors. There is a paucity of population-based data examining the health information–seeking behaviors and attitudes of skin cancer survivors.

We aimed to identify the prevalence and patterns of health information–seeking behaviors and attitudes among skin cancer survivors across age groups.

We analyzed population-based data from the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey 5 (Cycle 3).

The 5438 respondents included 346 (6.4%) skin cancer survivors (mean age 65.8 years); of the 346 skin cancer survivors, the majority were White (96.4% [weighted percentages]), and 171 (47.8%) were men. Most reported having ever looked for health- (86.1%) or cancer-related (76.5%) information; 28.2% stated their last search took a lot of effort, and 21.6% were frustrated. The internet was most often cited as being the first source that was recently used for health or medical information (45.6%). Compared to skin cancer survivors younger than 65 years old, those 65 years of age or older were more likely to see a doctor first for important health information (≥65 years: 68.3%;&lt;65 years: 36.2%; <i>P</i>&lt;.001) and less likely to have health and wellness apps (≥65 years: 26.4%; &lt;65 years: 54.0%, <i>P</i>=.10), to have watched a health-related YouTube video (≥65 years: 13.3%; &lt;65 years: 27.4%; <i>P</i>=.02), and to have used electronic means to look for information (≥65 years: 61.4%;&lt;65 years: 82.3%, <i>P</i>&lt;.001)

Searches for health information are common among skin cancer survivors, but behaviors and attitudes are associated with age, which highlights the importance of access to doctors and personalized information sources.