Toward an alternate model of uncertainty management : managing cancer prevention information

• Main Author: Lam, Jocelin Yingfen
• Other Authors: May Oo Lwin
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Social sciences::Communication::Communication theories and models
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/104231; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/50223
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

With rising cancer incidence and cancer mortality rates, cancer preventive screening is the recommended health prevention measure. However, global adoption rates remained sluggish. Past evidence showed that cancer screening avoidance is attributed to demographics, psychosocial barriers, and physical environmental factors, and lacked an adequate theoretical framework. The uncertainty management theory (UMT) provides the needed conceptual framework to explaining the avoidance phenomenon. UMT, however, has not been fully developed as there uncertainty constructs that are not quantitatively measured. The objective of this thesis is to (1) identify the sources of uncertainty, (2) establish a scale that operationally defines the sources of uncertainty, and (3) determine the predictive power of HUS on information avoidance and cancer screening intentions. The HUS consists of 19 items that addresses uncertainty with five dimensions. The scale was developed and validated through three phases of study, starting with interviews, items development, validation through EFA (n=81), CFA (n=371) and predictive validation. Five typologies, medical, financial, self-efficacy uncertainty, interpersonal relationship ramification, and social support availability emerged from the qualitative analysis and were quantitatively validated. Medical, financial, and self-efficacy uncertainties measure informational ambiguity on medical recommendations, risk, financial, and doubt in self ability to cope with the possibility of cancer occurrence. Interpersonal relationship ramification and social support availability measures perceived threat cancer occurrence has on treasured relationships and evaluation of the availability of social support. Survey results showed that medical uncertainty and interpersonal relationship ramification positively predicted information avoidance. Self-efficacy uncertainty negatively and social support availability positively predicted cancer screening intentions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.