False-Positive Cancer Screens and Health-Related Quality of Life

Details

• Personal Author:
  Church, Timothy R. ; Cordes JE ; Engelhard DA ; Gross CR ; Krueger RA ; McGovern, Patricia M.
• Description:
  By design, screening tests are imperfect-unresponsive to some cancers (false negatives) while occasionally raising suspicion of cancer where none exists (false positives). This pilot study describes patients' responses to having a false-positive screening test for cancer, and identifies screening effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The pilot findings suggest issues important for incorporation in future evaluations of the impact of screening for prostate, lung, colon, or ovarian (PLCO) cancers. Seven focus groups were conducted to identify the nature and meaning of all phases of PLCO screening. Minnesota participants in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial who had completed screening, with at least 1 false-positive screen, participated (N = 47). Participants' reactions to abnormal screens and diagnostic work-ups were primarily emotional (eg, anxiety and distress), not physical, and ultimately positive for the majority. Health distress and fear of cancer and death were the major negative aspects of HRQoL identified. These concepts are not typically included in generic HRQoL questionnaires like the SF-36, but are highly relevant to PLCO screening. Clinicians were regarded as underestimating the discomfort of follow-up diagnostic testing. However, relief and assurance appeared to eventually outweigh the negative emotions for most participants. Implications for oncology nurses include the need to consider the emotional consequences of screening in association with screen reliability and validity. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Diagnosis Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Mental Health Neoplasms Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Analytical-processes Author Keywords: Cancer Screening Cancer-rates Diagnostic-tests Disaster-prevention Emotional-stress Focus Groups Health-care-facilities Health-care-personnel Medical-personnel Medical-screening Nurses Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, And Ovarian Cancer Psychological-effects Psychological-reactions Psychological-responses Psychological-stress Qualitative-analysis Quality Of Life Questionnaires Secondary Prevention Statistical-analysis Stress

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• ISSN:
  0162-220X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Minnesota ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  347-352
• Volume:
  27
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20037474
• Citation:
  Cancer Nurs 2004 Sep-Oct; 27(5):347-352
• Contact Point Address:
  Patricia M McGovern, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Mayo Del Code 807, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
• Email:
  pmcg@umn.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Performing Organization:
  University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Cancer Nursing
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:86a7c7144d200339ec1559ecb7e1327fa6332b1add1af222d0562a904089e3a7d98cf7d06bb5fa88353dd93d757662781a4b3de45c39673b8d6e2a75c53e8367
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188566/cdc_188566_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 118.09 KB ]