Cancer Fatalism Among Rural Residents

Introduction

Residents of rural areas have higher cancer mortality rates due to the high prevalence of inaccurate information about cancer compared to urban areas. Adults living in rural areas experience many diseases, including cancer, due to less access to healthcare facilities.

Compared to urban residents, rural residents are more likely to support a variety of fatalistic beliefs about cancer prevention.

What Are the Common Beliefs About Cancer Among Rural Residents?

• Rural residents believe that anything causes cancer.

• It is impossible to prevent cancer.

• There are far too many cancer prevention recommendations.

• Cancer is always fatal.

There are several obstacles to addressing this mistruth, but rural people frequently ignore cancer prevention and detection resources when made available. Understanding the reasons for this behavior is a critical task for cancer researchers.

What Is the Reason Behind the Cancer Fatalism Belief?

A study comparing rural and urban residents found that the former had higher levels of cancer fatalism and knowledge levels. According to a survey, rural people's beliefs and attitudes about cancer may result from limited resource access. Another reason for these beliefs could be a need for more education and a low-income source. Rural residents rely on printed posters or newsletters and healthcare providers, whereas urban residents are more likely to use the internet as their primary cancer information source.

What Are Cancer Fatalistic Beliefs?

Lower socioeconomic groups frequently hold the fatalistic idea that a cancer diagnosis is a death sentence. The notion that external forces are in charge of events and a feeling of helplessness regarding preventing or surviving cancer is a fatalistic cancer belief. Thus, fatalism is an amalgam of fear, predestination, good fortune, helplessness, and pessimism. Residents in rural, as opposed to metropolitan areas, can be more likely to believe cancer misinformation. Compared to people living in urban settings, those who reside in rural locations are said to have higher levels of cancer fatalism and an overabundance of cancer information. There are several reasons for this difference, but one of the hardest is that those rural folk frequently ignore accessible cancer prevention and detection tools. Deciphering the causes of this behavior is urgent for cancer researchers. According to studies, attitudes and ideas about cancer may be the root of the problem. Rural folks may be more likely to hold unfavorable views about the disease due to their limited access to resources.

What Are the Consequences of Cancer Fatalism Beliefs?

Rural residents have more fatalistic beliefs about preventing a primary cancer diagnosis due to a lack of education.

• Fatalistic beliefs about cancer prevention may harm health because they are associated with lower participation in cancer prevention methods.

• Individuals with fatalistic beliefs are less likely to participate in cancer screening, sunscreen use, smoking cessation, and fruit and vegetable consumption exercise.

• The link between fatalistic beliefs and the adoption of health behaviors has implications for preventing cancer and other chronic diseases.

What Is the Difference Between the Urban and Rural Residents Regarding Cancer Belief?

Urban Residents

• Stable income.

• Higher education levels.

• Lower percentages of chronic diseases.

• Healthy lifestyle habits

• Early diagnosis of cancer.

• Use of the Internet for cancer information.

Rural Residents

• Higher rates of poverty.

• Lower educational levels.

• Higher percentages of chronic diseases.

• Poor lifestyle behaviors.

• Cancer is diagnosed at advanced stages.

• Rely on newsletters or posters.

What Are the Reasons for Cancer Beliefs?

• Excessive information or exposure to complex information may overburden the thinking process and result in confusion or fear.

• Furthermore, low trust in health information and negative experiences with cancer information-seeking, such as feeling frustrated, unsure, or concerned about the quality of information, are the factors leading to the beliefs.

Which Familiar Sources Provide Health Information?

Internet

• The most common source of cancer information is the internet.

• Rural residents are less likely to trust information from the internet than their urban counterparts.

• Rural residents who use the internet for cancer information are less likely to hold fatalistic beliefs about cancer prevention than those who rely on their doctor for information.

• Although in future generations, the rural internet user base will grow.

• Thus, the lower use and trust in internet sources for health information may hinder cancer prevention information.

Physicians

• Doctors are the most reliable sources of information.

• Rural and urban residents have the same level of trust in physicians for health information.

• Although health knowledge appears to be related to education level, it does not appear to be related to fatalistic cancer beliefs.

• Rather, specific experiences with cancer information seeking, such as finding quality and understandable information, may be more important in influencing cancer prevention beliefs.

What Are the Limitations of Health Information for Rural Residents?

• Despite their greater reliance on healthcare providers for health information, rural residents visit such providers less frequently, limiting their access to health information even further.

• Furthermore, rural areas have higher rates of cancer-related morbidity, and personal health information is obtained through familial connections within small communities.

• A person's cancer diagnosis or poor prognosis may spread more widely than news about those with a good health prognosis.

• This phenomenon may have a multiplicative effect on a person's sense of control over their ability to combat a cancer diagnosis.

How to Prevent Cancer Fatalistic Beliefs?

Fatalism defines a cultural and philosophical belief system.

Effective Health Communication

• It can help to dispel myths and misconceptions about cancer prevention methods.

• Cancer prevention education should consider rural culture, fatalistic viewpoints, and information access to provide relevant and accurate information.

Targeted Educational Efforts

• It could help reduce fatalistic attitudes toward cancer prevention in rural areas.

• An educational video may reduce fatalistic beliefs about cancer prevention among older rural adults.

Accessible Information

• Interventions must provide evidence-based information without overloading recipients or exceeding their literacy level.

• The information must be delivered through television, social media, and primary care clinic-based education so those with fatalistic perspectives can easily understand and accept it.

Conclusion

Rural residents' misconceptions and beliefs may impact other health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer fatalism. To progress toward less disparate rural cancer outcomes, future work to promote cancer prevention initiatives should identify and address the unique cultural and fatalistic perspectives and limited cancer information resources.