Staying abreast of breast cancer : examining how communication and motivation relate to Singaporean women's breast cancer knowledge

Numerous health communication studies have highlighted the importance of factual knowledge as an antecedent to health behavior but few have explored other dimensions of health knowledge, such as structural knowledge. This study seeks to fill this gap by investigating conceptual differences between t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lee, Edmund W. J., Ho, Shirley S.
Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/79445
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/25443
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:Numerous health communication studies have highlighted the importance of factual knowledge as an antecedent to health behavior but few have explored other dimensions of health knowledge, such as structural knowledge. This study seeks to fill this gap by investigating conceptual differences between these two kinds of knowledge in the context of breast cancer in Singapore, and find out how communication and motivational factors are related to them. Using a nationally representative random-digit-dial survey of women aged 30-70 (N = 802), results showed that interpersonal communication and elaboration were associated with both knowledge types. Attention to online health news and the level of risk perception were positively associated with structural knowledge, but not factual knowledge. Theoretical and practical implications for health communication were discussed.