Do men know which lower bowel symptoms warrant medical attention? A web-based video vignette survey of men in Western Australia

The current study aims to explor how men would advise other men about seeking help for lower bowel symptoms and also to determine the factors that may influence help seeking. A purposive sample of Western Australian men aged 18 years and older was recruited for the study. Participants completed 8 of...

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Main Authors: Oberoi, Devesh Varun, Jiwa, Moyez, McManus, Alexandra, Parsons, Richard
Format: Journal Article
Published: SAGE Publication 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8278
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author Oberoi, Devesh Varun
Jiwa, Moyez
McManus, Alexandra
Parsons, Richard
author_facet Oberoi, Devesh Varun
Jiwa, Moyez
McManus, Alexandra
Parsons, Richard
author_sort Oberoi, Devesh Varun
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The current study aims to explor how men would advise other men about seeking help for lower bowel symptoms and also to determine the factors that may influence help seeking. A purposive sample of Western Australian men aged 18 years and older was recruited for the study. Participants completed 8 of the 28 randomly assigned video vignettes (video clips) displaying men (older or younger) with various combinations of one or more lower bowel symptoms. Participants were asked if the person in the vignette should seek health advice. Subsequently, the participants answered a set of questions based on the Health Belief Model. A total of 408 participants (response rate = 51%) answered 3,264 vignettes. Participants younger than 50 years, participants who were not tertiary educated and those who had lower incomes, or those living in regional or remote areas were less likely to advise help seeking from general practitioner (GP). Participants who visited their general practitioner less frequently were also less likely to advise help seeking. There was a trend to consider unintentional weight loss and diarrhea as minor symptoms not necessitating medical attention compared with rectal bleeding. The findings suggest for a need to improve public awareness among men about the need to seek timely medical advice for lower bowel symptoms in primary care. The importance of early presentation of persistent lower bowel symptoms must be specifically targeted at men younger than 50 years, those with lower incomes, or residing in regional or remote areas.
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publishDate 2015
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-82782017-10-02T02:28:05Z Do men know which lower bowel symptoms warrant medical attention? A web-based video vignette survey of men in Western Australia Oberoi, Devesh Varun Jiwa, Moyez McManus, Alexandra Parsons, Richard vignettes men’s health health belief model help seeking rectal bleeding lower bowel symptoms health behaviors The current study aims to explor how men would advise other men about seeking help for lower bowel symptoms and also to determine the factors that may influence help seeking. A purposive sample of Western Australian men aged 18 years and older was recruited for the study. Participants completed 8 of the 28 randomly assigned video vignettes (video clips) displaying men (older or younger) with various combinations of one or more lower bowel symptoms. Participants were asked if the person in the vignette should seek health advice. Subsequently, the participants answered a set of questions based on the Health Belief Model. A total of 408 participants (response rate = 51%) answered 3,264 vignettes. Participants younger than 50 years, participants who were not tertiary educated and those who had lower incomes, or those living in regional or remote areas were less likely to advise help seeking from general practitioner (GP). Participants who visited their general practitioner less frequently were also less likely to advise help seeking. There was a trend to consider unintentional weight loss and diarrhea as minor symptoms not necessitating medical attention compared with rectal bleeding. The findings suggest for a need to improve public awareness among men about the need to seek timely medical advice for lower bowel symptoms in primary care. The importance of early presentation of persistent lower bowel symptoms must be specifically targeted at men younger than 50 years, those with lower incomes, or residing in regional or remote areas. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8278 10.1177/1557988315574739 SAGE Publication unknown
spellingShingle vignettes
men’s health
health belief model
help seeking
rectal bleeding
lower bowel symptoms
health behaviors
Oberoi, Devesh Varun
Jiwa, Moyez
McManus, Alexandra
Parsons, Richard
Do men know which lower bowel symptoms warrant medical attention? A web-based video vignette survey of men in Western Australia
title Do men know which lower bowel symptoms warrant medical attention? A web-based video vignette survey of men in Western Australia
title_full Do men know which lower bowel symptoms warrant medical attention? A web-based video vignette survey of men in Western Australia
title_fullStr Do men know which lower bowel symptoms warrant medical attention? A web-based video vignette survey of men in Western Australia
title_full_unstemmed Do men know which lower bowel symptoms warrant medical attention? A web-based video vignette survey of men in Western Australia
title_short Do men know which lower bowel symptoms warrant medical attention? A web-based video vignette survey of men in Western Australia
title_sort do men know which lower bowel symptoms warrant medical attention? a web-based video vignette survey of men in western australia
topic vignettes
men’s health
health belief model
help seeking
rectal bleeding
lower bowel symptoms
health behaviors
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8278