Do older people perceive cancer prevention and early detection to be worthwhile? Implications for prevention

Despite evidence that suggests modifying risk factors at any age can reduce the risk of cancer, many older people fail to take relevant preventive actions. The objectives of the project were to assess whether older people perceived taking actions to prevent cancers as worthwhile after the age of 60...

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Main Authors: Ngune, Irene, Howat, Peter, Maycock, Bruce, Slevin, Terry
Format: Journal Article
Published: The Australian Journal of Primary Health, La Trobe University 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9752
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author Ngune, Irene
Howat, Peter
Maycock, Bruce
Slevin, Terry
author_facet Ngune, Irene
Howat, Peter
Maycock, Bruce
Slevin, Terry
author_sort Ngune, Irene
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Despite evidence that suggests modifying risk factors at any age can reduce the risk of cancer, many older people fail to take relevant preventive actions. The objectives of the project were to assess whether older people perceived taking actions to prevent cancers as worthwhile after the age of 60 years. Fifty men (19) and women (31) 60 years and older (mean age 68 years) participated in seven focus groups to assess their perceptions of preventive health actions and barriers and motivators in relation to cancer prevention. Most participants reported not adhering to preventive actions for cancer. Many did not perceive the benefits if the actions are initiated after the age of 60 years, and some risk factors were not perceived to be related to cancer. There was strong agreement that screening for cancer was worthwhile after the age of 60 years. It appears that awareness programs specifically tailored to seniors may be desirable to promote cancer prevention within a context of chronic disease prevention in general.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-97522020-09-18T01:56:14Z Do older people perceive cancer prevention and early detection to be worthwhile? Implications for prevention Ngune, Irene Howat, Peter Maycock, Bruce Slevin, Terry seniors cancer risk factors health promotion Despite evidence that suggests modifying risk factors at any age can reduce the risk of cancer, many older people fail to take relevant preventive actions. The objectives of the project were to assess whether older people perceived taking actions to prevent cancers as worthwhile after the age of 60 years. Fifty men (19) and women (31) 60 years and older (mean age 68 years) participated in seven focus groups to assess their perceptions of preventive health actions and barriers and motivators in relation to cancer prevention. Most participants reported not adhering to preventive actions for cancer. Many did not perceive the benefits if the actions are initiated after the age of 60 years, and some risk factors were not perceived to be related to cancer. There was strong agreement that screening for cancer was worthwhile after the age of 60 years. It appears that awareness programs specifically tailored to seniors may be desirable to promote cancer prevention within a context of chronic disease prevention in general. 2009 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9752 10.1071/PY09004 The Australian Journal of Primary Health, La Trobe University restricted
spellingShingle seniors
cancer risk factors
health promotion
Ngune, Irene
Howat, Peter
Maycock, Bruce
Slevin, Terry
Do older people perceive cancer prevention and early detection to be worthwhile? Implications for prevention
title Do older people perceive cancer prevention and early detection to be worthwhile? Implications for prevention
title_full Do older people perceive cancer prevention and early detection to be worthwhile? Implications for prevention
title_fullStr Do older people perceive cancer prevention and early detection to be worthwhile? Implications for prevention
title_full_unstemmed Do older people perceive cancer prevention and early detection to be worthwhile? Implications for prevention
title_short Do older people perceive cancer prevention and early detection to be worthwhile? Implications for prevention
title_sort do older people perceive cancer prevention and early detection to be worthwhile? implications for prevention
topic seniors
cancer risk factors
health promotion
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9752