Lung Cancer Awareness and Media Framing: A Study of Public Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions in Malaysia
Keywords:
Lung cancer, Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceptions, Newspaper, Health Belief ModelAbstract
The study examined knowledge, attitudes and perceptions the public towards lung cancer, and types of lung cancer information highlighted in newspapers in Malaysia. The descriptive study involved 155 questionnaire respondents and qualitative content analysis of articles on lung cancer published in four English dailies in Malaysia. The Health Belief Model underpinned the study. A majority of the Malaysian respondents had low to moderate knowledge of lung cancer, a high level of perceived severity, a low level of perceived risk, and positive attitudes and intentions towards lung cancer preventive measures (strong response efficacy, strong self-efficacy, strong belief in benefits). The newspaper articles crafted the threat of lung cancer through emphasis on severity (25.84%) and susceptibility (23.60%), rather than recommended actions (19.10%), benefits (16.85%) and barriers (14.61%). Both the questionnaire and content analysis results identify poor practical knowledge on ways to seek screening and diagnosis as a bigger barrier to adoption of health preventive measures than cost and addiction to tobacco smoking. The study provides novel findings on the need to distinguish between knowledge of severity, susceptibility and treatment options, which is moderate to good, and practical knowledge of ways to seek screening and treatment, in public education programmes.
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