Abstract
Advanced stage cancer is frequently attributed to delays in presentation to a healthcare professional. To reduce undue delay, it is imperative to understand the reasons underlying help-seeking behaviour and to measure those using valid and reliable tools. This systematic review aimed to identify how studies have measured psychosocial factors affecting time to presentation for (potential) cancer symptoms. A total of 35 studies were included. Most studies failed to use valid and reliable tools, and predominantly provided inconclusive results regarding psychosocial factors and time to presentation when no or minimal psychometric evidence was present. Consequently, measure selection and future measure development should be guided by psychometric principles.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 79-99 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Journal of Health Psychology |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 16 May 2017 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2019 |
Keywords
- cancer
- help-seeking
- measurement
- symptoms
- systematic review
